BUCKEYE, Ariz. – An Arizona high schooler is complaining to the media after she contends school officials banned her from wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt on picture day, and forced her to change.

Mariah Havard, a sophomore at Buckeye Union High School, wanted to make a statement with a Black Lives Matter t-shirt her father purchased for her to support the movement, but when school officials asked her not to wear it to avoid a disruption, she took to Facebook to vent her frustrations, Fox 10 reports.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Havard posted Tuesday:

i (sic) woke up this very morning knowing that it’s picture day for my school we all know as Buckeye Union High School – BUHSD #201. I get dressed and put on my BLM shirt and I walk out the door and join the other students on the bus. I walk into school and search for somewhere to sit until I reach a bench in front of the office. A security guard then asks me to follow him into the office and as I do so he then tells me to sit down in front of the principals (sic) office. I sit and wait for the principal and when he finally walks up and tells me to go see Ms. Whitman our vice principal. I walk into her office and I sit and listen on how she tells me that my shirt is creating a disruption in the learning of education, she then tells me that I am not allowed to wear the shirt that means a great deal to me and my African American friends. She then walks out of the office and hands me a white shirt that’s meaningless and non political and has nothing to do for what I’m standing for. I heard her loud and clear but I do plan to continue wearing my shirt. The reason why I apparently can’t wear this shirt is because on Friday, August 19th I got into a (sic) argument with a young caucasian (sic) boy who said “black lives don’t matter” and “that shirt is meaningless” #blacklivesmatter

Havard then goes on in the post to essentially validate school officials’ concerns about the shirt being a distraction.

“While wearing the shirt I have been verbally attacked MANY times,” she wrote. “I never meant to imply because black lives matter others don’t! On top of that while attending buckeye I’ve seen a young lady who wore a confederate flag shirt that clearly supports racism …”

[xyz-ihs snippet=”NEW-In-Article-Rev-Content-Widget”]

When school officials asked Havard to change her shirt, she complied, but also called her mother and posted about the ordeal online. The incident sparked interest from local television stations eager to capitalize on the controversy.

“Black lives matter … we’re not saying that your life doesn’t matter, we’re saying that your life does matter, but so does ours,” Havard told Fox 10.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

The 15-year-old’s family and friends are supporting her quest for justice.

“She understands what BLM means,” her mother Roxanne told the news site. “That’s why she wears the shirt, that’s why her father purchased it for her, she understands it’s positivity, black people should be treated just as fairly as any other race, and right now in the world, that’s not the case.”

Havard’s friend Genesis Santoyo also wore a Black Lives Matter shirt to school to show solidarity, and to counter other students who allegedly wear offensive clothing to school.

“I’ve seen gay pride shirts, I’ve seen confederate flags,” Santoyo, who is also black, told KPNX. “I’ve actually seen a white power shirt once.”

Santoyo said she was also forced to change out of her BLM shirt at school.

“I felt like I was being punished for who I am,” she said.

The teens contend school officials announced a ban on BLM and Confederate themed attire because of their defiance, though school officials refused to discuss the issue with KPNX or confirm the girls’ accusations.

“A representative at the district office told us the superintendent was aware of the situation but was unavailable for comment,” the news site reports.

Officials also refused to talk with Fox 10, though the site also reports officials announced a ban on Confederate and BLM clothing.

Yet despite the problems, Havard posted to Facebook that she plans to continue to wear her BLM shirt to school again on Friday.

“On Friday the 26th, my sister and I plan to wear our BLM shirts,” she wrote, “it (sic) you have one or make one then wear it, if you can’t do either then wear a (sic) all black shirt or item of clothing. Come support us.”

The teen said she expects the dress code war to result in a lot of problems.

“There’s going to be fights, separate sides and some are going to wear BLM shirts and some are going to wear Confederate flags,” she said.