Briana Cedillo talks about how Dalton High School teacher Randal Davidson inspired her to go into education as Nassib Mughrabi holds her notes on Saturday at the Whitfield County courthouse.

DALTON, Ga. — Current and former students of Randal Davidson want the world to know that the teacher accused of firing a gun in a classroom at Dalton High School on Feb. 28 is not the teacher they knew.

“I don’t excuse his actions,” said Briana Cedillo. “There has to be some consequences for them, but I still see him as the same funny, supportive teacher I knew.”

Cedillo, now an education student at Dalton State College, says Davidson was the person who inspired her to become a teacher.

She took Advanced Placement history from him her sophomore year at Dalton High.

“But even after that, he was always welcoming to students, even if they weren’t in his class,” she said. “I would drop by his room if I needed help with other subjects or just wanted to talk.”

Cedillo was one of about 40 people, mostly current and former students, who marched from Harmon Field, where the Dalton High Catamounts play, to the Whitfield County courthouse Saturday afternoon.

They held signs reading “Stay Strong Davidson.” But they also chanted “mental health matters” and held signs reading “Be the 1 That Helps.”

“We want to show our support for Mr. Davidson in what he is going through, but we also want to call attention to mental health issues,” said Scott Beck.

Albert Adhya said he was glad to see so many people come out to support Davidson and to call attention to mental health issues.

“He’s a good man. He did something wrong, but he’s obviously hurting,” he said. “If we can spot these problems before they happen, if we can increase the resources available to those suffering from mental health issues, maybe we can help prevent something like this from happening in the future.”

Dr. Bill McDaniel was one of those who joined the march.

 “I really don’t know Mr. Davidson that well,” he said. “But I read in the paper about the breakdowns he has had. I also read all the comments from his students about what a great teacher he was and what a good man he was. I wanted to support him, but I also wanted to support them.”

Students described Davidson not only as a teacher willing to go the extra mile to help them but also someone who always seemed upbeat.

“He was great, his personality, his knowledge, the way he supported his students,” said Marisela Cisneros. “But you never know what someone is going through in their personal life. They could be going through depression, anxiety. It’s important to let them know they can reach out for help.”

“He was always very fluent in the subject he taught,” said Nassib Mughrabi. “He was always positive, upbeat. Signs of depression and mental illness are sometimes hard to spot. And people who are suffering often don’t want to bother other people, so they may not ask for help.”

Cedillo said she has dealt with mental health issues as well.

 “I know how easy it is to hide it. That’s one of the things that upsets me now — that he might have been dealing with some of the same issues I was, and I couldn’t see it,” she said. “Issues of mental health — depression, anxiety, eating disorders — are almost a taboo topic. People don’t want to talk about it. People don’t want to admit they are dealing with these issues. Maybe they don’t want to be seen as a burden to someone. Maybe they think people will look down on them.” 

Jim and Susan Jaconetti were among those who took part in the march.

“We came her to support Mr. Davidson and to support out daughter Jessica,” said Jim. “He had a big impact on our daughter. She had him as a sophomore and has remained close to him. He wrote her recommendation to (the University of Georgia). He went the extra mile, even for students who weren’t in his class.”

Jessica Jaconetti, a senior at Dalton High, took AP history from Davidson her sophomore year.

“The hardest year of my life. I had a lot of really bad things happen, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I was taking too many hard classes, and he was there for me when a lot of people weren’t,” she said.

Davidson was released from jail on a $10,000 bond Thursday afternoon from the Whitfield County jail for psychiatric evaluation and treatment.

District Attorney Bert Poston wrote in a press release that Davidson would be taken to either Westcott Behavioral Health Services or “another appropriate facility” for “additional psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Davidson will sign a waiver allowing the facility to report the results of the evaluation to the court.”

The consent order signed by Superior Court Judge Cindy Morris states that if Davidson is released from a mental health facility, he “is to return from such facility to the Whitfield County jail unless otherwise directed by this court in writing.”

Davidson is charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats, carrying a weapon on school property, reckless conduct, disrupting a public school and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

At press time Saturday, a Change.org petition supporting Davidson had more than 650 signatures. The petition, at www.change.org/p/dalton-high-school-davidson-is-a-good-teacher, reads, in part, “While we know that we won’t be able to pardon the criminal charges he’s going to face, we hope that the community will forgive him and leave his name out of the political mess in America. Leave Mr. Davidson’s name and reputation out of this. He’s in a dark place and needs our support, not threats or hate.”