Students at a Chicago public school protested for the third time since classes began in September in hopes of changing school policies.

Approximately 50 students staged a sit-in and walked out of King College Prep High School on Thursday to protest policies implemented by new principal Melanie V. Beatty-Sevier, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Students, parents and faculty have accused Beatty-Sevier of snatching resources from underprivileged students. Students claim they've been barred from using their media center after video of a student climbing a bookcase surfaced, and they said this ban has negatively affected their work.

“Our media center acted as our library — we no longer have our library,” Senior Class President Devonna Portwood said. “We are forced into a small classroom of only 30 computers, only four of which can print. So the whole student body squeezing into this small room is not working, and [Beatty-Sevier] is not doing anything to give us our library back.”

This change has reportedly been particularly difficult for seniors preparing for college.

“We don’t have a counselor, and for seniors, we are just lost trying to figure out this college stuff," Portwood added. "We need support, and we just don’t have it. We are out here fighting for better education; these adults aren’t listening to us.”

Students and parents are also upset about changes to the school’s hours, reports Block Club Chicago.

Before Beatty-Sevier’s tenure, students were allowed to stay on campus until 6 p.m. or later while waiting for their parents. They were also able to access the building at 6:30 a.m., if needed. Now, they cannot enter the school until 7:15 a.m. and must be out by 4 p.m.

“A lot of us don’t have steady homes to go to, and we need our school,” said Jonathan Williams, who leads the junior class. “School is the one place we want to be.”

Beatty-Sevier’s appointment was an unpopular decision as she replaced a beloved principal. She also won few fans ahead of the school year when she linked students’ choice of clothing with sexual assault, the Sun-Times reported at the time.

“The dress code, we, as we already stated, there has been sexual abuse cases throughout the city of Chicago. These things are put in place to, why, why should we allow students to dress provocatively,” she said at a school council meeting in August.

The principal's response to her students latest protest did little to build bridges. She reportedly gathered about 100 seniors and told them they would be barred from a field trip to Dave and Buster's if they participated in the protest.

@kingcollegeprep Principal had the audacity to curb students demands and give them weak excuses why they won’t give into their demands, all while having the police behind them to intimidate teenagers! This proves 12 a gang!#KingHasADream #SilentKing #KingSitIn #GoodKidsMadCity
pic.twitter.com/8qZzPL5mMr

— GoodKidsMadCity (@GKMC18) December 20, 2018

The threat was somewhat effective, according to a teacher who asked to remain anonymous.

“These are students who, a lot of them are going to be first-generation high school graduates and some first-generation college students, so when they hear someone of power threatening their future, it can be scary,” the teacher told the Sun-Times. “I haven’t been talking to [students], but if I was, I would not encourage them to participate in the sit-in.”

Chicago Public Schools spokesman Michael Passman pushed back against reports of intimidation and claimed students were allowed to protest if they didn’t cause a commotion.

“Empowering student voices is a priority at CPS, and the district is working closely with the school to ensure students have an opportunity to express themselves in a safe and respectful environment with minimal disruption to classroom learning,” Passman said in a statement.

Beatty-Sevier has not commented on the controversy.

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