TUCSON, Ariz. -- Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the University of Arizona's Old Main building Wednesday, despite high temperatures on campus.
It was over one hundred degrees out, but people didn’t seem to let that bother them.
Among the crowd was Zak Piekarski, a recent University of Arizona graduate from Chicago.
“Heat is not a factor. This is about more than just uncomfortable, because the people who are getting oppressed by the police are uncomfortable every day of their lives,” Piekarski told KGUN9.
He says today was about making their voices heard.
“We need to get the root of the problem out of the way and that is oppressive racism throughout every level,” he said.
While he was prepared for the heat, even distributing water bottles himself, some were not.
Sonne, who was in charge of coordinating volunteer street medics at the tent near Old Main, says at least five people needed medical attention within the first 30 minutes of the protest.
“Sorry we’ve got a couple of medics deploying now for a heat related issue it looks like,” she told KGUN9 in the middle of the interview.
Sonne says heat sickness will be a common ailment during the coming weeks, due to the heat.
However, they were prepared to help with donated water bottles, snacks, masks, sunscreen and even hand sanitizer.
“Heat like this can cause people to faint. Cause them to get dehydrated quickly. It can also cause heat exhaustion and heat stroke,” said Sonne.
To prevent this, she recommends folks drink one water bottle per hour, if they are out in the heat.
At least 15 people were seen by street medics with heat-related symptoms.
Thankfully, no one was taken to the hospital.
