“We’ve Got To Save The Babies”
Editor’s Note: This plea came from the late Marvin Gaye who recorded a song called “Save the Children” on his iconic “What’s Going On” album in 1971.
Live life for the children
Oh, for the Children!
You see, let’s save the children
Let’s save all the children
Save the babies! Save the babies!
And if you want to love,
you got to save the babies!
MARVIN GAYE, 1971
Sadly, America has never fully heeded Gaye’s outcry. In the ensuing years since that song’s release, thousands of children in the U.S. have been senselessly murdered, most in seemingly safe havens like schools, churches, malls, playgrounds and most recently while attending a suburban Fourth of July parade in Illinois.
This year, the 25 students from the Annenberg Youth Academy decided to tackle this issue. Collectively, they’ve interviewed teachers, policemen, survivors, parents, activists, scholars, psychologists and students. Their stories are amazing and so are they.
Please read, watch and listen to all of the content posted here. They might not have all the answers we need as a nation to stop the madness, but a wise man once said that “a child will lead them.”
I’d follow these kids anywhere. They have the ability to not only to lead, but to listen and be the change they want to see.
God willing, they’ll do what they can to save the babies.
Miki Turner
Uvalde And The Latinx Community
The Wounds Are Deep
By Belen Gonzalez
The mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 deeply impacted people from the Latinx community–especially since there is a large Latinx population in Uvalde. Nineteen students and 2 teachers were killed by a teen with an assault rifle.
For some Latinos what happened in Uvalde increased their anxieties about life in America.
“In addition to all the things that are happening right now in Latino communities, this is just one more horrible reminder that there are a lot of systematic challenges that we still have to deal with,” said Dr. Angela Acosta, a Chicano Studies professor at East Los Angeles College.
Dr. Acosta further stated that the past injustices and the marginalization of the Latinx community have left deep wounds.
“The emotional pain is going to be for a lifetime, unfortunately, “says Dr. Acosta.
Susana Baltazar, a special education teacher at Dymally High in LA, described her feelings on what happened in Uvalde a day after the shootings.
“The next day I had to go to work and I talked to my colleague,” Baltazar said. “‘She said, they’re going to ask us questions about it. What are we going to say?’ So, then I said let’s just have them lead the conversation because I really didn’t know what to say. They did talk about it. It’s all Black and Latinx kids and one of my Latino kids said, ‘ I heard what happened. Did you hear what happened?’ And he started saying, ‘ why do they hate us?’ So, I think they know and are very aware.”
Although seemingly young, children can still feel and understand the situation and the distress of those going through this. Mainly, when a school is targeted where the effects are felt immediately as it directly affects them.
“School is supposed to be a safe space for the kids, especially a lot of the kids from working families, so I am sure they would maybe stay after school or come early in the morning. They probably spend a lot of time at school so for them to have that safe space be threatened, I think that’s going to have an impact on all the students,” says Baltazar.
Dr. Acosta added, “Our children, while we can teach them our values in our homes, they are still exposed to a lot of things on social media that may not align with our values and could really impact the mental wellness of our adolescents, the idea that he could go out and buy a gun and that it would be accessible. How much it costs, and how to do it, are things that you could find on the internet, unfortunately.”
Although one cannot control every aspect of their children and their upbringing, it is crucial to pay attention to children and the support they need to avoid situations where they feel neglected and unwanted.
“Because I am a Chicano Studies professor, Dr. Perez-Hoover talks about this idea of spiritual capital and the ability for us to find solus in something greater than ourselves,” Dr. Acosta said. “That is what allows us to have hope and aspirations to continue when times are tough and challenging. A lot of the Latino community was basically saying that this is something we have to surrender and that God will help us and heal us and hear us.”
Many problems remain, one being the side effects that this community is being exposed to and the ways in which it has been ingrained within society. Many stereotypes that have already been established are heightened and tear down those at the center of the disaster. Considering that the majority of the population and the gunman in Uvalde are Latinos, this would cause more pain and direct hate towards them.
This is why Acosta says that support systems are essential for Latino communities during this time.
“I feel like that community, while in trauma and pain, has also used the ideas of cultural capital and coming together as a community to deal with this unbearable pain that they were suffering and that they are suffering,” she said.
People find comfort in those who know what they are dealing with and can be there to help in a genuine manner, especially when they have been neglected. This is why they have to put into use their own cultural and spiritual capital. When people or communities fail to have this support, it can end in negative ways.
“A lot of people want to point to what was wrong with this young man to do such horrible things, and he was saying let us not demonize the human, let us try to understand the pain and come together as a community so that our youth do not feel that this is the only option that they have,” Dr. Acosta says. “It is crucial to correct the lack of support for those who need it to feel they have a sense of belonging and that they matter.”
Dr. Acosta believes that there is a lot of regression going on, “How do we reconcile this idea that on the one hand historically Mexican-Americans [teachers] resisted and fought for quality education so that children could be educated with cultural-responsive teaching, language, etcetera? And, yet at the same time, we have our adolescents who are experiencing trauma and pain and were able to buy a gun and walk into the school and shoot children and teachers.”
It is not just that so much of what people have fought for can go away in an instant. However, it is still crucial to not lose hope and keep enforcing those ideals that allow people to flourish as individuals and be empowered as an oppressed people.
Dr. Acosta also recalled an event where a mother wanted to protect her children yet was stopped because of law enforcement.
“What I thought was so horrible was that they handcuffed her [Angeli Rose Gomez] for wanting to go into the school and save her children. On January 6, we had people going into Washington DC and storming the capitol, and it was a coo on our country, and none of those people were handcuffed and sat down. And yet, here this mother who was going to go in to save her children and possibly other children she would have saved. I feel like there’s something wrong in our society when we’re handcuffing mothers who want to save their children and not dealing with those who are doing major criminal offenses, like selling guns to 18-year-olds who are clearly in crisis.”
The system that has been present for so long has shown time and time again that it fails not only Latino communities but a vast majority of them.
“I think we need a lot of mental health support, we need more therapists, we need more art and music in schools and more resources in general,” Baltzar says.
Change needs to occur so that communities will not be failed by their own people and so that history does not repeat itself. This mass school shooting in Uvalde is a prime example of how much pain events like this cause and how little people care to provide support for the people it harmed, not only physically but emotionally.
“The investment just needs to be greater,” Dr. Acosta said. “ I feel like we have done a disservice to our youth. My hope is that those who have gone through this tragic experience will be the leaders of tomorrow to deliver the voice that is saying we can no longer do what we have been doing because it is not working, we need to do something new, and we want to feel connected to each other and to our communities.”
Enough Is Enough
Who is to blame for Uvalde?
By Giselle Cardenas
On May 24, Celia Gonzalez was shot by her grandson, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. He would then go on to kill 21other people at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. What happened in between and during these two tragic incidents, remains a mystery as survivors and local citizens are pointing fingers at the police for ineffectively doing their job — to protect and serve.
There are conflicting reports on when the police arrived, how long it took them to enter the school and why it took more than an hour for them to control the situation. So, who is to blame for the deaths of incident children and the teachers who tried to protect them?
“I am sick and tired of it. We have to act,” President Joe Biden said during a news conference. “The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong.”
Psychologist Eustorgio Galarza believes what happened is wrong, but is not yet pointing fingers.
“It is like a recipe for food, you are given all the ingredients for the outcome,” Galarza said when asked what he thought brought Ramos to these actions. The way he was treated on social media and in school, hate, and possible neglect, all mess with mental health, this is what Galarza considers the ingredients for Ramos’s outcome.
Galarza however, believes there is no specific person to blame because there are many factors in this situation.
“Yes, he is responsible for pulling the trigger, however, what led him to such could be many things,” he said. “Along with the police and how they responded, they could be to blame.”
It has been reported that Ramos was living on his grandparents’ couch for about 2–3 months prior to his killing spree.
“He clearly must have had some home problems if he was living with his grandparents, and as his family, they should have taken the responsibility to care for him and make sure he was okay,” Galarza said.
Galarza also suggested that if the family around Ramos, as well as the people around him had noticed signs, they should have spoken out and got him any help he needed immediately. Now, because no one spoke up, lives were lost, many were injured and Ramos’ grandmother can no longer speak, and may never have the ability to do so ever again.
With the ongoing topic of Ramos needing help, why did the police who had arrived on the scene — apparently even before Ramos entered the building — not act immediately? That is still unclear, too. Where they unprepared? Or were they just scared?
“There is a hierarchy. It is not just about going in and stopping him. It is like a trained dog without the command. He does not act.” Galarza illustrates.
This suggests that it might have been possible to stop Ramos’ killing spree sooner if orders had come from the top to do so. If they had, maybe this most recent uproar on gun would not once again divide the country.
The second amendment states it is the right of the people to keep and bear Arms. However, to what extent should we be okay with people owning guns if they cause more harm then they help protect.
“Yes, we could ban guns, but that wouldn’t change anything because people who truly want to do bad with guns would find other ways to buy guns,” Galarza said.“Although if we make it a harder and longer process that takes at least a year to get a gun with a proper background check and a full mental health check, it may help to know we aren’t giving guns to people who aren’t stable enough to handle a gun.”
Is it the lack of change and the way guns are represented online that has to do with mass shooting? There seems to be propaganda in the media where guns are almost romanticized in relation to pop culture which is where most teens are influenced. Along with the way politicians and people of higher power don’t seem to care or say too much about guns other than how it is the people’s right to own them.
Rachael Chang, USC Business and Film Major. 07/05/20222
(Photographed by: Author Giselle Cardenas)
Rachael Chang, a USC student said, “I feel politicians, people who are against banning guns are to blame because I feel like the easy access makes it easier for things like this to happen compared to other countries where you don’t have as easy access.”
What could be done to prevent future mass shootings?
“Regulating the access to guns, because it is too easy to get a gun. Or for example, I remember another country after they had a mass shooting they quickly took action and bought back most of the guns. I think if we were to do that I think it could possibly help.” Chang said.
Could it be that stricter gun laws or removing guns would help prevent more mass shootings in the future?
“I think the only way we can prevent mass shootings is to at least make it harder to get guns, because why get a gun if you’re under 30 maybe unless it is for hunting or sport?” said Madison Boyd, a sophomore at North Torrance High. “If the drinking age is 21 and the age when our brains are supposedly fully developed is 25, then why can an 18 year-old get a firearm?”
It seems like it really is the lack of gun laws could be to blame, but according to Boyd, “We can keep putting the blame on only gun laws, but also the school police were responsible for Uvalde.”
Madisen Boyd, student at North Torrance
High School via zoom July 2nd, 2022.
(Photographed by: Author Giselle Cardenas)
A school security guard’s job consists of protecting children and making sure they’re safe. So are they at fault too? Does that suggest most schools should at least be prepared for possible events or does it just suggest more fear?
Well even if one has not lived through such an event, many fear they are next like rising sophomore at San Gabriel High School, Angelina Estrella. She fears for her family and friends most importantly because any school could be next.
“Do people just not care anymore? I feel as though guns are just handed nowadays with no care in the world. I feel like guns need to be taken seriously because many innocent lives have been taken because of the weak gun laws,” said Angelina Estrella, a student at San Gabriel High School.
Photographed by: Author Giselle Cardenas
Not only are the gun laws weak in Estrella’s eyes, but the police and their response are too.
“I think the police did not act fast enough because they were worried for their safety, and how they were not prepared enough,” Estrella said. “Although, if they had acted faster I truly believe less children would have been injured.
“I understand they feared for their safety, but it’s their job to protect and serve the community, so why did they not do their jobs?” At that point Estrella pauses and sheds tears before adding, “ If the police can’t protect us who will?”
Who will help us? Who will prevent this from happening again? Who will be next? There are no deep and proper background or mental health checks when purchasing guns. Police response is not strong enough, and school safety is not strong enough.
Perhaps not enough is done when it comes to promoting mental health awareness. So how does this end? Will there have to be many more dead children, cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, moms, or dads for there to finally be change?
Dodging Bullets, Changing Lives
What’s next for student activists
By Lily Feldman
With the announcement of the June 25 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act signed by President Joe Biden, Elena Perez (pictured below),a policy associate with March For Our Lives, is now somewhat hopeful for the future of gun control in America.
“As excited as we are to see the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed, we recognize that it is just the start,” said Perez during a recent Zoom interview. “It is a very very small step, a huge compromise, it is not everything we wanted to see at all, it was the bare minimum. So, we see that as the first step, we see that as opening the door for new legislation people are willing to have a conversation now.”
According to Sen. Chris Murphy’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act One Pager, the act seeks to enforce “red flag” laws, protect victims of violence, increase background checks for those under 21, enact penalties for ‘straw purchasing,’ fund community-based violence protection programs, invest in mental health services, and increase funding for schools.
However, as Perez, whose job includes brainstorming federal legislative priorities and tracking legislation, mentioned, the bill is just the start of reforming gun control. More action is needed as the bill doesn’t fully address all the problems guns have created.
“One thing is this bill has only shrunk the relationships and dating loophole, it has not closed it,” Perez said.
Perez explained that in the past if a partner to whom you are not married, abused you, in some states, the abuser would still be able to have access to a firearm. Now, if the victim files a report, the abuser can’t own or purchase a firearm. However, if the victim gets a protective order, their significant other can still own or purchase a firearm even if the victim is protected because it’s not considered the same level as a court trial.
Perez additionally explained the funding the bill has provided to communities.
“This bill gave funding to the CVI, a gun violence protection program. March for Our Lives is a huge supporter of that, but there needs to be more funding for these communities. So, looking at funding for communities for either own solutions and continuing to fund their own programs that are doing work on the ground.”
Lastly, Perez argues for the need to expand universal background checks as the new bill doesn’t fully address them for those above 21.
Parkland Shooting Survivor and Activist, Sam Fuentes pictured over ZoomSam Fuentes (pictured right), a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018 and an activist with March For Our Lives, pushes for an assault rifle ban and fights for the movement as she shares her experience.
“When I was 18 years old, I would never have imagined that I would have been shot with an assault rifle and had to watch two of my friends die in front of me. Things like that hurt and it pushes minds and hearts. Bringing these minds to the forefront and making sure that they remain in the media and remain to be important is the big reason why laws in D.C. can be passed,” Fuentes explains.
Along with the push for a ban on assault rifles, Perez argues for more legislative action and an ethical look into the Supreme Court.
“Another thing that we are looking at is in response to the Supreme Court decision, Bruin, and just the corruption on the NRA literally paid to get people like Cavenuh on the court. Looking at the judicial ethics and anti-corruption act of 2022. It is Senator Warren’s bill and it just looks to make sure that there is a code of ethics for the Supreme Court because currently there is not.”
Maya Henry, a junior at Girls Academic Leadership Academy, is a student activist who rallies her peers to fight against school shootings and climate change, agreed.
Henry said, “I think for a very long time we have been electing politicians or just letting politicians stay in office whose only gun control plan is to tweet out, “Our hearts go out to the victims of *insert school name* or *church names* shooting victims. I think that it is time that we need to vote them out and we need to put in place politicians who do care and who are going to make a change.”
Student Activist Stella Sosnow pictured over ZoomStella Sosnow (pictured left), a rising junior at Immaculate Heart High School, a student activist that informs herself and others on school shootings and gun reform, adds.
“Holding the gun industry accountable for the access they are giving to children and insisting on mandatory training and licensing for gun owners because having them train and educating them about what they are using is a big deal too,” Sosnow said.
Moreover, “How firearms are advertised to minors and continue to look at making that like alcohol or tobacco where you can’t advertise and glorify that to children,” says Perez.
More action is needed on the government side, such as reform to our judiciary system, including increased diversity of judges, state responsibility for public safety, and increased judicial transparency and accountability.
Within our communities, Henry adds that we should continue to find ways to keep the conversations around guns going in churches, schools, clubs, or households. Perez agreed.
“Continue looking at gun violence conversations while people are willing to have these conversations that may not be traditionally GVP because we recognize that we can’t just end violence by universal background checks, there are so many things that play into it,” Perez said.
Henry added that these conversations need to be happening inside schools.
“How are we going to talk about if you are in school and there is an active shooter, what are you going to do? Are you going to keep you, your classmates, and your teachers safe?” Henry said.
Looking towards the next generation, Sosnow urges youth to take action as they are the generation of the future.
Sosnow said, “Youth need to change their mindset to know that there is a lot of little stuff that I can do that can make a difference. For example, writing letters, making calls, donating, educating themselves so they can educate other people, and reading reliable news sources.”
Henry explained the importance of knowledge of politicians who are running for elections in your area, city, or state is important, and knowing their stance on gun reform. Both Sosnow and Henry highlight the importance of educating yourself to then educate others to eliminate any myths or misinformation.
“Change starts on the local level, so go to your school board, talk to people there, and see what you can do to increase counseling in your schools. I know that a huge thing is cops in schools and how they can criminalize the school system. What can we do to end the school-to-prison pipeline? What legislation can pass on your state level that you can go and advocate for? We see that most states are really willing to take action. So, how can you get involved there, looking at what legislation is happening?” said Perez.
Additionally, Fuentes believes in getting involved in your community as it is an effective way of achieving change and the power of social media in the movement for gun violence prevention.
“I cannot emphasize the importance of community and local efforts enough. Also being able to strategize at a state level about what can be accomplished in your community. Another important action is social media, especially in this day and age where not everyone feels comfortable doing on the groundwork. Whether that means donating to families and communities impacted by gun violence,” said Fuentes. (Sam Fuentes photo by Lily Feldman)
Other actions suggested by the student activists were grassroots campaigning, phone banking, canvassing, donating money, voicing your support, or calling the NRA and telling others to do the same. Henry suggests a question to pose to those who are 18+ to ensure people are voting with children’s safety in mind.
“Hey, how are you going to vote in this midterm election or in the next general election to make sure that my friends, myself, and my classmates are protected?” Henry said.
Henry strongly urges teenagers to take action as they are the face of the new tomorrow.
Henry said, “Finding some way to make your voice heard or to amplify the voices of the politicians and student leaders who you really support. Finding a way to somehow educate yourself and others is something to take a stance against shootings and take a stance for gun control.”
Though the action has been taken, the journey is not over. Sosnow, Henry, Perez, and Fuentes have all reminded us that the fight for gun violence prevention is still happening. We need to look to the future and keep rallying.
“My biggest inspiration comes from those who have sacrificed their lives and energy for movements of the past. Ultimately, what makes up this movement of gun violence prevention is all of the people who we have lost and we always have to remind ourselves that this is our purpose and this is why we are doing this,” Fuentes said.
Gun Control: Where Do We Go From Here
By: Audrey Lin
According to The Gun Violence Archive, more than 310 mass shootings have taken place in the United States during the first half of 2022. This averages to over one shooting per day, with multiple deadly incidents rocking the country in close succession, The recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 21 dead on May 24 has brought increased awareness to the topic of gun control laws.
Sam Fuentes is a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and an activist with March For Our Lives, a youth-led movement to eliminate gun violence. She stressed that “people need to continue feeling outraged and not defeated or hopeless…This is the moment where I feel it is most important to organize and to activate.”
On June 11, March For Our Lives coordinated a nationwide gun reform campaign with hundreds of local marches taking place on the same day. Fuentes explained that March For Our Lives is now focusing on uplifting the voices of survivors, encouraging voters to show out at state polls and advocating for red flag laws, which allow law enforcement to petition state courts for the removal of firearms from individuals they believe pose a threat to others or themselves.
Shira Griffith, the state director of Generation Ratify California and vice president of the University of Redlands California College Democrats chapter, highlighted how school shootings add a collective level of anxiety and stress to all students.
“We go to school to learn,” Griffith said. “We should not have to fear for our lives when we walk through the doors of our classrooms.” According to Time magazine, multiple studies show that school shootings exacerbate anxiety and panic in U.S. children.
Generation Ratify is a youth-led organization that seeks to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and Griffith stated that the ERA would benefit communities of color disproportionately impacted by gun violence. “No one is safe until everyone is safe,” Griffith said. She also listed several methods of comprehensive gun violence prevention that they feel will make a drastic difference: mandatory background checks, ending ghost guns, ending the gun show and boyfriend loopholes, stopping the sale of military-grade weapons [and] raising the purchasing age on weapons to at least 21.
Another activist working with March For Our Lives, Anna Pham, decried politicians’ inaction towards gun violence in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. She pointed out that politicians are elected to represent, protect and serve citizens, yet they fail to pass legislation acknowledging public opinion.
Sadie Sellers founded The Social Ripple Effect, a nonpartisan voter education and literacy group. The Social Ripple Effect recently organized their annual Juneteenth Black Marketplace where they installed a memorial honoring victims of gun violence.
Specifically, Sellers mentioned that the organization wanted to emphasize how marginalized communities such as Black people (Buffalo supermarket shooting) and queer people (Orlando nightclub shooting) are often targets of gun violence.
“Before 2006, [assault rifles] were not allowed,” Sellers said. “We need a return to practicality. I understand the need for people of color to protect themselves, especially Black people and especially [coming from a single immigrant mother of four]. But I see no reason for somebody to need a gun that can spray a hundred bullets a second and kill fifty people under an hour. Wanting something is very different from needing it. You cannot always have what you want.”
Am I Next: A School Shooting Situation Interview
By DeAnna Johnson
High school students generally have a lot going on. They’re studying, preparing for college, prom, graduation, and they are often dealing with their own personal fears when it comes to safety at school. Three high school students — seniors Sharlyn Donoza and Dallas McElrath from Diamond Ranch, and Ahsha Jones, a senior at Troy High — discussed their concerns about school shootings and campus safety precautions.
DeAnna Johnson: “Do you have any stress in regards to the recent shootings that have been targeting young people?”
Donoza: “With the recent shootings being seen in the states it’s beginning to trigger even more of the fearful and cautious stress that I’ve had.”
McElrath: “Yes, 100%. It worries me with going to school everyday. It is a constant fear, I have because you never know if we will return home safely, at night, because school shootings have been a reoccurring thing happening in public schools in the United States.”
Jones: “Yes, whenever I go onto campus it always crosses my mind. I look a lot at where to sit myself to have the best chance of surviving.”
Johnson: “Do you think your school is preparing for a possible active shooter situation?”
Donoza: “We have not practiced lock downs or talked about what to do in case of a shooting incident on campus.”
McElrath: “I do not think so and if they have, I haven’t seen any preparation.”
Jones: “Our survival education is not taken seriously enough, especially not now.”
Johnson: “Do you think anyone in your community is preparing for possible shootings?”
Donoza: “I’m mostly concerned about a shooting happening in school.”
McElrath: “Honestly, no. I don’t think we have enough resources nor information as to how we can properly prepare for possible shootings.”
Jones: “I don’t think anyone is. But, personally I am trying to mentally prepare myself for those situations.”
Johnson: “How do you feel when you hear about shootings at other schools?”
Donoza: “It hurts to realize that it’s still an ongoing problem that has been going on for years and not much has been done or seen in the government to protect innocent lives that are just trying to get through a normal day.”
McElrath: “It frustrates me and it makes me extremely sad. I feel grief because it could be you, your family, or friends in that exact situation.“
Jones: “Since these keep happening, I keep thinking about how fragile everyone’s lives are and it makes me really upset. It’s hard to know that we have to even have major conversations like this. So, with every shooting, I get more scared. Just because everything is very unpredictable.”
Johnson: “Are there any steps that you are taking towards protecting yourselves and your family?”
Donoza: “Since I have young people in my family I feel like there should be more that I should do or talk about in order to protect them.”
McElrath: “ Yes, but being only 17, there’s not much I can do.I wish I could do anything, but I can only do so much to protect myself as well.”
Jones: “Yes, my family and I have talked about how to respond to situations like this and how to be more aware in social settings.”
Johnson: “Are there any hazards at your school that concern you if a shooting were to happen?”
Donoza: “I don’t think my school is prepared for an active threat because of the lack of knowledge shared throughout the school about such a topic.”
McElrath: “I think about how our school does not have security checking to see if kids are bringing any weapons on campus.”
Jones: “No, I just think that my school can prepare us more in case something does happen.”
Overall the students expressed concerns with how prepared their schools are and the amount of information that is being told to them and their family members. Collectively they felt that they were not educated about this topic and felt as if their schools should focus more on protecting the students and faculty on campus by communicating with students and their family members. As well as actively preparing them for dangerous situations that are out of their control.
How Student Activism Changed America
By Alexis Marin
The 1960s: a decade filled with many pivotal events from civil rights, to the women’s movement, the Vietnam war, and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Civil rights leaders Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr., Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Nation of Islam Activist Malcolm X.
College students, however, were among the most important activists of this era. The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, headed by Stockley Carmichael, and the Freedom Riders led by John Lewis, Diane Nash, and others, helped better America. Recently with mass shootings at schools, social injustices, and other causes, student uprisings have increased.
In 2018, Nikolas Cruz, an expelled high school student, entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As Cruz killed 17 people and wounded another 17 people, he became responsible for one of the most fatal shootings in America’s history. In response, millions of people protested in recognition of the lost and wounded lives. The creation of March for Our Lives, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about gun control, transpired immediately after the Parkland shooting. March for Our Lives forever changed history, as it remains the largest single day of protest against gun violence.
USC’s very own, Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson, can vividly remember gathering with her peers in the Seven Sisters and other Ivy League students to protest the inclusion of Black studies. Wilson, an associate professor of American Studies, Ethnicity and History at USC, is a Wellesley College, Harvard University, and University of Pennsylvania alumna. Her rich understanding of student activism throughout time informs her research on the intersections between black labor movements, black social scientists, and black women’s history during the Jim Crow time period. During a zoom interview, Wilson and I explored the history of student activism together.
According to Wilson, student activism sparked spirit within many college students. People were eager to advocate for a shared idea, concept, or belief. As student activism continued to emerge, students began protesting for administration reform, tuition increases, and soon, social injustices. Students were compelled to betray rules.
“It didn’t just become radical in college. Students were radical in high school and brought those insights into college. They pushed these movements forward,” says Wilson.
Initially, Wilson thought Black student activism had just started in the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, as a historian, she discovered Black student activism dates far back to the 1890s. Here, Black students inquired for Black professors, which was perceived as an insult to the non-black teachers. In the 1920s and 1930s, there was Black student activism on HBCU campuses.
“Students were dealing with the same kinds of pressures, issues, and making demands on the institutions that they were a part of. It was not as dangerous for us, quite frankly, at Harvard or Wellesley [College], as it was for the students in Mississippi, but we are very much a part of the times,” Wilson said.
Throughout Wilson’s career as a Black studies professor and historical scholar, she remained involved in student activism. Oftentimes, she has worked with student activists attempting to increase student population on flagship State campuses. For example, at University of Michigan, students led events. Separate from Wilson’s academic career, she focused her time on Apartheid issues in South Africa. Additionally, she worked to expel the British people from Zimbabwe.
These days many students are focusing their efforts on social justice for the plethora of Black and Brown men, women, and children who have been senselessly murdered. As the outcry of these killings have increased, gun violence has become a frequent topic of conversation in America.“I think student activism happens in waves and these waves intersect. Also, it [student activism] reflects the times,” says Wilson.
In a recent rally in Washington, DC, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor David Hogg, has evolved as one of the most vocal leaders of a student-led movement since the ’60s. He acknowledges that gun control issues have divided the nation, but told CNN that, “America is not as divided as Congress.
“The most divided people in this country are not in the 50 red, blue, and purple states across the country, they are right here. They are the 100 senators on Capitol Hill,” Hogg said. “Because we do have Republicans with us. We do have gun owners with us. We all want change. Either they unite behind the changes we’re demanding or we will vote them out because all of us do agree, left and right, gun owners and non-gun owners, that we must take action to save lives now.”
After the recent shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the protests for gun control have increased significantly. More often than not, it appears that people of color have been targeted more recently by alleged White supremacists.
“The issue is that if you’re told, the most important thing in your policing is for you to stay alive and see regular citizens, particularly people of color as dangerous,” Wilson said. “Whether the policeman is black or white, or Hispanic or Asian, they’re more likely to react with extreme violence in ways that they don’t do in wealthy white communities, where actually people might be acting worse, or when there are mental health issues the family would say, ‘We need your help, things are escalating.’ (Then) the police come and kill the person who’s obviously having a mental health crisis. The dehumanizing treatment begins to make you feel like your life and other people’s lives have very little meaning. And that the slightest perceived insult needs the maximum response.”
Considering the 2012 fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, after citizen George Zimmerman claimed he looked “suspicious,” Black men remain unfairly targeted. Martin’s name carries weight in the social justice movement. As Zimmerman was found not guilty, there was no justice for Martin. Martin’s murder sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Police in the United States have been taught to feel that black people are a threat to their lives. Very few policemen get consequences for killing a black person. Guns allow for a much-heightened amount of violence. I’m very concerned with police brutality, the kind of destructive way that young men of all colors have approaches that are idealistic, that don’t think very much about life, or other people’s lives,” says Wilson.
In periods of uncertainty, all citizens can really do is advocate for each other. “It’s a duty of people to not be passive about what’s happening. When it’s something that a lot of people are talking about, it’s easier for students to be activists. On one hand, you can make a real difference. And students have shown this in the past, you can change history by being active. On the other hand, if you think that these things will never affect you, it’s very naive,” Wilson says.
Audrey Lin, a junior at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, says, “It’s important, especially for people our age, to go out and protest for issues that they care about. Sometimes protesting feels a little bit futile. But at the end of the day, it’s a really important aspect of kind of the way policy is shaped in this country.
“Public pressure has always been a large component of how decisions are made at the federal level,” she added. “People need to realize that, especially for people who can’t vote, this is one of the few ways we can get our opinion into the world. People should consider research on what they can do in their communities, as part of this mass resistance…also ensure that you’re aligning with people whose values align with yours. It is important to protest, but it’s also important to kind of see your own position in it and figure out what you can do”
Wilson adds, “When there’s a larger movement, it’s easier to join in, you feel like you have more permission because your parents are saying, ‘I’m spending $50,000 for you to go here. Why are you getting kicked out of school? I didn’t send you here for this.’ So, if all your peers say, let’s work on changing the university’s policies, it can happen.”
Opinion: What is Wrong With America?
By Itzak Salazar
The question of what is wrong with America is impossible to answer. Everyone has their own unique rights and beliefs that make it impossible to satisfy everyone.
Sometimes, government officials forget the reason the founder of this country came here. They came to be able to practice their culture free of consequence. In recent years we have seen government force their beliefs on certain topics on the people.
In other news, unemployment rates and inflation is at an all-time high. The cost of living in the highest it’s ever been and both the stock market and crypto markets are down.
One of the many problems is racism. Racism is institutionalized in America and can be the cause of other problems. Unfortunately growing up anywhere in America, you will face racism. This is due to the goverment’s failure to properly educate the younger generation, and for reinforcing institutional racism from the 1700s.
According to the United Negro College Fund, only 30% of black students get their bachelor’s degree. Eleven percent of students enrolled drop out. This is due to the lack of financial aid available to Black and brown students from poor communities. On January 21, 2019, the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) went on strike with the goal of raising money and shrinking classroom sizes.
In the span of 6 days, the school district lost more than $200 million dollars in government funding, which forced them to listen to the teacher’s demand to raise funding. However, this did not help Black and brown students in poor communities. Their schools remained the same. Black and brown communities need more funding to help students obtain access to internships, programs, and college courses. Students also need more access to college counselors and college advisors.
Unfortunately, these are not the only hardships they will face.
The hardships start at a young age and they do not stop. Ten percent of Black people are unemployed, only 10% of Latinos/Hispanics make more than $100,000 a year. Additionally, more than 20 million people of color are pulled over each year. Sixty-four percent of hate crimes target people of color, and they make 13% less than the average white man.
Basic rights such as voting, have been suppressed for Black people. In 1915 the Grandfather Clause was signed, which said that descendants of slaves were not allowed to vote. In 1930 they started charging poll tax to prevent black people from voting. In 1964 they started enforcing literacy tests in hopes of attracting fewer Black voters. In the 1900s, the government passed an act that banned voters with a criminal record from voting, decreasing Black voters by 30%.
Most recently, in the early 2000s, states started limiting voting stations outside of Black communities, making it harder for them to get to the polls. The hate and suppression won’t end unless the American people let their voices be heard.
Systemic Racism is real and alive
Voting is not the only place systemic racism is involved. There are already several bills that suppress Black people, that are waiting to get signed. In 2021 the Supreme Court tried to pass a bill that would bring back these old laws to completely suppress Black voters. Black people also face struggles with political disempowerment, segregation, the criminal justice system, and financial control.
The government is used to paying little to no, attention to Black and brown neighborhoods. These communities already face enough. It doesn’t help that the government lets Black hate groups like the 1%ers run loose free of punishment, even after the deaths they’ve caused. However, removing the 1%ers wouldn’t mean the end of racist behaviors.
Children have the privilege of having their parents decide what they know and don’t know. There is a child filter on keeping you hidden from the media. At a certain age, a switch flips giving kids the freedom to garner their own information. Because of this, adults aren’t always there to teach them what’s right and what’s wrong. This uncontrolled/unfiltered media contributes to the growth of hate speech.
A school in the center of Silver Lake Los Angeles faced a problem with racism during the 2020 school year. At Thomas Starr King Middle school, controversy arose after teachers began hearing the majority of white students saying the N-word. This caused outrage among the Black students causing an iron curtain to fall on the school. The teachers had failed to inform the young student why that word is not OK, and its history. This occurs all over the country because the government fails to acknowledge the sins of their past.
So, who is to blame for the discrimination people of color face?
According to Jose Gonzalez, a doctor and parent in Los Angeles California. “We shouldn’t waste time on asking whose to blame, but work together towards a better future?”
Racism isn’t going to disappear anytime soon, so together as a whole the suppressed need to stand up against the suppressors. People of color have not yet been freed from the chains of segregation that kept them quiet for hundreds of years.
The goal of an equal society must start with the people learning to accept each other and working together. As Obama said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
America will never be perfect, but well have to make it work.
Reading, Writing, AR-15s
Should Teachers Be Strapped?
By Ava McQueen
Each day in America brings the threat of more lives being lost from lack of gun control. In a country constantly recovering from gun violence tragedy, safety — which should be especially emphasized in the seemingly harmless environment of a school — should be focused on above all else.
Teachers across America are now debating this topic — should they be allowed to carry a weapon as deadly as a gun in the classroom?
Sgt. Keith Mott, a 15-year veteran of the LAPD, believes there is no use for a gun in a classroom.
“Teachers should not have to be trained to protect their classroom from outside entities,” Mott said, emphasizing that guns don’t cause violence, it’s the people with guns. Mott’s response suggests that having guns in classrooms would not decrease gun deaths and injuries, but actually increase them.
If teachers being armed in the classroom isn’t the solution to school shootings, then what is? Mott believes that resource officers and understanding your school and area is the answer. He says school resource officers are the ones that “should be trained to identify the need for their school when it comes to safety measures.”
Mott believes it is key for resource officers to consistently evaluate student behavior and the threats that some students make in order to deal with a problem before it grows into something unmanageable. While this can seem like a tough feat to accomplish, the more genuine work we put into preventing school shootings, the less trauma our country will have to bear. Understanding the relationship of a school, its staff, and its students is the key to being able to prevent more tragic shootings.
In Ohio, gun laws were recently changed surrounding carrying a gun in school — whereas previously staff was required to have 700 hours of training, they now only have to have 24 hours of preparation to carry a concealed weapon according to House Bill 99. When asked about this bill, Mott said that training to have teachers at the same level of knowledge of protection as law enforcement officers do is improbable.
“If you’re a teacher, how do you get the years of training like that (as a police officer does)?” Mott said.
The comparison between the level of training in dangerous emergency situations involving a gun does not compare to a 24-hour long training and will only result in careless decisions made by people who aren’t equipped to carry guns in a stressful situation. Decisions such as Bill 99 — made only 20 days after the devastating shooting in Uvalde, Texas — will only lead to more violence that could’ve been prevented without the passing of this bill.
Comparatively, Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told The State House News Bureau that the passing of the House Bill 99 is “part of an overall plan to harden school security.” This decision is based on past situations in which innocent armed bystanders have stopped gunmen in situations that pose the threat of becoming a deadly shooting.
Experts also hypothesize that if possible shooters knew the teachers had guns, they would be less likely to carry out an attack on a school (Farrar).. Another lead supporter of teachers being armed in the classrooms is the US National Rifle Association, led by CEO Wayne LaPierre Jr. LaPierre told The Washington Post that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
But what if both the bad guy and the good guy didn’t have guns? The solution to gun violence, especially in school shootings, is the absence of guns and not the excess of them.
The new bill’s opponents include organizations like Moms Demand Action, the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, and even the Ohio Education Association. They are fighting up-and-coming laws allowing more and more people to carry guns in school environments. In Alabama, Oregon, and Utah, anyone with a concealed weapon permit is allowed to bring a gun onto a school campus, whether it’s kindergarten or 12th grade.
In at least 18 states, school authorities can allow anyone they choose to carry a gun on campus in some cases. Gun laws are getting increasingly looser by the day, and this is a problem that needs to be dealt with immediately before it’s so big there is no hope left for our children in schools.
Michael Norr, has taught 5th grade at West Hollywood Elementary for nearly 20 years. He thinks that guns in the classroom creates bigger problems. Teaching ten and eleven year olds is not an easy task, but the fact of knowing there’s a gun is another challenge to overcome for teachers like Norr.
“Guns will only bring more problems to the classroom,” he said.
Georgia Carrington, a junior at Immaculate Heart High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., feels that student lives would be more at risk with weapons in the classroom, whether it was concealed or not.
“I feel like if any bump or sudden action happened, they (my teacher) would pull out the gun,” Carrington said.
Tahlia Noble, a junior at John Burroughs High School, agreed.
“I feel like if the problem in a school shooting is the gun, giving one to more people would not be beneficial,” she said.
Across Los Angeles students from diverse backgrounds agree that increasing gun availability for their teachers could lead to more violence and would not offer an assurance of safety in their schools. The threat of a school shooting is unimaginably frightening and this fear can easily overtake students and staff alike. But according to Mott, the way to overcome this and deal with it is not increasing access and availability of guns in the classroom, an environment where each and every student should feel safe and not threatened.
“Being reactive is only 10% of law enforcement’s job. the other 90% is being proactive,” Mott said.
Smile For The Camera(s)
DPS says it’s prepared to protect students, faculty and staff
By Cathy Li
In the eyes of USC officials, school shooting is an avoidable tragedy.
Rather than focusing on responding after the fact, USC’s policies are based on prevention, emphasizing supporting at-risk students before the situation ever escalates into an active shooter scenario.
In order to enforce these plans, student services like Campus Wellbeing & Crisis Intervention (CWCI) partners with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to make sure USC has enough resources to mitigate any gun violence.
The first line of defense in monitoring potential threats involves the help of students and faculty, who are encouraged to report any concerning behavior through the Trojans Care 4 Trojans (TC4T) hotline. CWCI “is the place where people go to seek support for themselves and the community,” reads the mission statement on its website.
“Here at USC, our goal is not to have a reduced casualty count but to have no casualties,” CWCI Chief Threat Assessment Officer Patrick Prince said. “A lot of assumptions are predicated on the belief that we don’t know who’s dangerous and all we can do is deal with the targets, but if we can identify folks that are engaging in concerning behavior early, no one will go on to get hurt.”
According to Prince, CWCI receives 3,000 to 4,000 TC4T reports a year, though not all are about safety concerns. Unlike other tiplines he has seen that do not receive a lot of responses, TC4T’s model is more like a “careline.”
“We tell students that if they know anyone who needs help, let us know and it will go to a dedicated team,” Prince said. “We’ve worked very hard at USC to create a culture where people are willing to share.”
Prince’s team, specializing in threat prevention, meets weekly with other offices under CWCI to discuss TC4T reports and any future action needed. His job, as he puts it, is to “basically predict the future.”
There are, however, certain patterns of behavior he looks for to determine which students might need help. The most common traits include social isolation, untreated depression, obsession with firearms, unsuccessful suicide attempts and previous abuse.
After such an individual is identified, Prince works with other departments to reach out and provide whatever support the student needs.
“Violence prevention is more than a deterrence of physical harm, it’s a restoration of wellbeing,” Prince said. “Our little goal is to prevent violence, but our big goal is to make people healthy, connected and thriving because healthy, connected and thriving people don’t commit violence.”
An emphasis on prevention, however, does not mean USC isn’t prepared for an active shooter on campus. DPS offers emergency training to all USC schools and departments, though it’s up to the individual organization to reach out and determine what type of training they want.
Whether a PowerPoint presentation or an interactive seminar with activities, all DPS training include an assessment of the participant’s environment and how they can protect themselves during an active shooter situation. For example, some of the questions posed during the training are where to hide to maintain an element of surprise and what can be used as a possible diversion.
“It’s a big game of what if. What if this happened and you were in this situation? What should some of your thought processes be?” DPS Training Division Sergeant Ralph Roseli said. “We build in different layers so we can make the participants see the dilemma of the decisions that have to be made. The goal is to identify the small advantages because none of the conditions are going to be ideal.”
Other than working with students and faculty, DPS makes sure their officers are prepared to respond to any emergency through collaborative trainings with the FBI and LAPD, in addition to an annual live exercise in which an active shooter situation is simulated.
Before physical response, however, DPS’ strategy starts with monitoring possible threats. The department includes a full-time surveillance room with 300 cameras around campus and access to 2,000 more that belong to other departments.
Outside of the main control room, unarmed community service officers (CSO) monitor individual sections of campus more closely and control the electronic locks in the buildings’ entrances.
“We’re like the eyes and ears [of DPS],” CSO Timothy Henry said. “We’re basically customer service because we try to engage with the students. If we notice someone under stress, there are people we contact to reach out to them.”
Once surveillance helps DPS locate the threat, the armed officers’ main priority is to secure the area and help anyone who needs medical attention. Their next step is to communicate with other safety resources like the LAPD and the fire department, in addition to informing the entire campus through the TrojansAlert and other university communication channels.
As of 2022, there have not been any active shooter incidents on the USC campus where the armed individual was targeting students.
“One of the things we do here that is unique is that we take a prevention approach. Our goal isn’t to find somebody who might be a threat and remove them, but to recognize that as human beings, all of us have faced crisis at some time in our lives,” Roseli said. “I hope it instills confidence to know that there’s an entire network behind this with a lot of communication and teamwork taking place.”
- DPS has 300 cameras
- Over 2000 cameras throughout usc (dif department, but dps has access)
- Surveillance room: 8–10 hr shifts (depends on staffing)
- At least 5 people on staff, no more than 8
- Has watch commander in own officer, dispatchers, and camera operators
Is It Really Possible To Prepare For A School Shooting?
By Luis Martinez II
In 2022 alone, there have been more than 300 mass shootings in America during the year’s first 188 days.
Mass shootings in the U.S. have unfortunately grown to be fairly common. With all these devastating cases, there should be something that the people could do to help prepare for these events. Interviews with several people ranging from a high school student to school staff focused on what strategies would work best during a mass shooting situation.
Working in a school environment is difficult already and with the current times, these staff members have to deal with stress and worry over the possibility of a shooting. So, when Daisy Alvarez, a head start teacher, was asked “How can we prepare for a mass shooting?”, she replied that there should be only one entrance for outside visitors for those exiting and entering school grounds, as well as having someone guarding the door.
“Nowadays, it’s just so easy to let anybody into the school without making sure that’s either the parent or making sure they have nothing that can harm the children,” Alvarez said.
Christopher Gonzalez, a math tutor who works with students from kindergarten to college, said that his work place conducts drills for earthquakes and other disasters, but doesn’t really have an active plan for a mass shooting. Irma Ruiz, however, says training for such a event might not be all that effective.
“I don’t believe there’s always a way to be fully prepared for a mash shooting,” said Ruiz, a campus officer for the Chaffey Joint Unified School District. “
Lilian Ramirez, a rising sophomore at Bell Gardens High School, said that she believes that at this rate “ mass shootings in America will eventually be as common as earthquakes or other natural disasters“ and that we will need school shooting drills in more schools.
The fact that we have to ask “How can we prepare?” instead of “How can we stop mass shootings?” shows us how normal this is for us. Whether it is gun laws, the government or mental health issues, we should be trying to find out how to stop them instead of being forced to prepare for them.
America Definitely Has Issues
And they aren’t going away any time soon
By Leyla Eliza Navarrete
The United States has always been glamorized by the so-called American dream. What if someone told you that life in the U.S. isn’t all rainbows and butterflies? There are a variety of social issues that the American people have yet to face and as they continue to traumatize people — including some who were visiting the University of Southern California recently.
Veronica Rojas, 29, shared her perspective on what is wrong with America. Initially, she struggled with answering the question. It wasn’t because she found other issues unimportant, it’s just that America has so many issues from mass shootings, climate change, social justice to COVID-19.
“I would say climate change because I have kids now so Iwant to make sure that in the future; our climate, our world is safe for them,” Rojas said. “It seems as if we are not really taking it seriously.”
Many parents share Rojas’ concerns. There is this constant push-and-pull argument about what truly can be done for our beloved Mother Earth, and if our efforts to combat pollution are sufficient. Rojas explained that she strongly believes that the solution lies within education, saying, “seeing the real effects of how we act towards our environment. It really makes an impact on our climate.
“We must be more cautious consumers, getting rid of plastic and just being more eco-friendly,” she said.
While some may be more interested in the wellness of our surrounding environment, there are others such as Allyson Hill, the associate dean of admission at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, who have been primarily focused on the recent Supreme Court decisions. On June 27, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade with a 5–4 judge. Initially, Roe v. Wade was meant to grant women protection and ultimately, the right to abortion under federal law.
“I think the primary issue for me is women’s rights and women not being respected,” Hill said. “I don’t know if it is an emotional feeling more so than an intellectual one. Women should have to right to choose.”
USC student Angelie Annue, 19, touched on a social issue that has divided the nation. The call for gun control is at an all-time high since the recent Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“I think that it is crazy how we just go in the same cycle over and over again,” Annue said. “How nothing is changing just makes me really mad. How this keeps happening is crazy because once is enough.”
Annue’s frustration can be sensed in her voice, the amount of desperation that she has felt for years now because of the continuous stories that are heard all around. Just in 2022 alone, there have been over 390 shootings t hus far. It seems as if every day, people are hearing stories about either children or grown adults being killed in schools and even grocery stores. Annue says she believes the National Rifle Association is at fault for the numerous shootings in the U.S.
“Definitely the NRA because they keep pushing,” she said. “They don’t care, honestly, about all the lives that are affected. They just keep pushing their agenda to make more money and I think it is pretty selfish of them. I don’t think there is any reason to have an assault rifle, I understand the need to protect yourself but it just is not necessary.”
Her main concern, however, is that the U.S. is more focused on keeping gun organizations such as the NRA happy because of the amount of wealthy individuals who are part of those organizations. This along with the fact that gun profits are extremely high and contribute largely to the economy. Thus, the main issue being that the United States is more concerned with making money rather than the wellbeing of their own citizens.
“No more, I cannot take anymore,” she said. “One child dying, one human dying is enough. It is time for a change and no amount of money from the NRA should be enough to keep this going, there should be an end to this.”
The goal of an equal society must start with the people learning to accept each other and working together. As Obama said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
America will never be perfect, but we’ll have to make it work.
Opinion: Its Scary Out There
By Candace Oblea
As a 16-year-old female, I am scared to go to school in America.\
I might not go to a public school were most of the shootings are occurring, or even a public place like Walmart in El Paso or Highland Park, Ill., site of the latest mass shooting.But, even though the chances are very slim, going to an all girl school, doesn’t change the fact that even a woman could shoot up a school.
I’ve thought about the possibility that one of my mission sisters could do something like that. And, after everything that has been happening in America, I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone could come into a school, no matter the gender, and fire a gun. The Uvalde school shooting had no rhyme or reason.The kid who killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary, was apparently angry. He even killed his grandmother prior to ending the lives of innocent kids.
I am scared to lose my life in a school shooting. A school is a place to learn, make friends, learn from your mistakes, have fun, enjoy life and dream about the day you’re going to graduate. All your hard work and all of those late night study sessions will eventually pay off. You’ll graduate, leave and have a chance to find yourself.
This is what school is supposed to be about. It’s a non-violent space. The fact that school shootings, or even shootings in general increase almost daily, isn’t supposed to be happening. My heart breaks every single time I hear about a school shooting in America. The problem isn’t getting any better, the protocols for school are insane. There’s a lot to go through to make sure that one day it’s not going to happen to you.
I often think about the possibility of a school shooting happening to me, my old friends or even my nieces. My family works inside the school district I thank God that they’re alive. Whenever I see them, I really give them my full attention. My mother doesn’t even mind taking me to school even if I whine and complain about the gas she’s wasting on that trip. She loves to take me to school and it really affects me because I would never want my mother to go through something like losing her daughter in a place that is supposed to be safe.
America is a place that was once great. Now it’s something that dealing with problems that shouldn’t even be happening. I don’t ever want to go through a school shooting or public shooting. I’m not in a war, but it feels as though I am on a battlefield.
My goal is to go to school, learn, help those in need, have fun, make memories and make friends that could possibly last a lifetime.
I shouldn’t have to worry about going to a place that makes me scared.
Parents Just Don’t Understand
Why some kids never come home from school
By Natalie Felix-Arreola
School shootings are becoming a more prevalent problem in today’s society. These tragedies continue to shake and affect communities all over the world. Parents fearful of losing their children, and children fearful of losing their lives. The recent events of not only the Robb Elementary shooting, but also other incidents such as Sandy Hook, and Columbine bring into question the effectiveness of not current protocols for situations such as these but also gun control laws.
Jo Anna Mixpe Ley and Amy Hust are two mothers who are challenged by these realities. Hust homeschools her kids, while Ley will be sending her daughter to public school this fall. Jo Anna Mixpe Ley is a 9th grade English teacher, and Amy Hust is a stay at home mom. Ley resides in Boyle Heights, meanwhile Amy Hust resides in Long Beach. When asked to reflect upon her first reaction to hearing of the devastating event of the Robb elementary school shooting, Ley describes a physical reaction to hearing the stomach-dropping news.
“And when I saw it I literally, my stomach instantly turned upside down and I locked all the doors, and then I asked Ms. Duenas across from me if she had seen it, and then after that I had to ask her to like take care of the classroom because I was immediately, got like a physical reaction. I got sick,” said Ley. “ Because I was so like um, I was just so, like, mortified, such an atrocity to occur, right?”
As a teacher, Ley described how hearing of this tragedy has affected her in more ways than one.
“And, you know we went through that luckily false (phase), but still we went through that threat where we had to have a lockdown, and, and then also just as a mother, too, it impacted me a lot to be very frank and honest with you.”
Although this issue is one that has been going on for some time, gun control laws are still ineffective. Ley, like many other parents, believes there’s ” a lot more that needs to be done.”
“But the NRA is such a huge oppressive force, that I mean, if you look at all the politicians and especially the republican politicians, and their contributions towards their political campaigning, it’s, it’s, you know it’s so big.” Ley noted. The NRA, also known as the National Rifle Association, is an association that often associates itself with different politicians, and funds campaigns.
Ley also expressed how much needs to be done, citing several examples about age limits and registration laws. “The way it is right now, it’s just not enough.”
Hust agreed with Ley. “Up the age of being able to buy them, because I mean just because someone can go into the military at 18 years old, doesn’t mean that they can, that they should be able to walk in and buy a gun.”
To prove her point, Hust brought up her brother who serves in the armed forces.
“It’s a little bit different. You know in the military they’re not just going to hand you a gun,” she said. “Like, my brother is in the military. They don’t just hand you guns.”
As mass shootings continue around the world, parents, students, and teachers alike remain concerned for their safety and the safety of their peers.
Jorge Castaneda, a facility manager at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said that it is part of his job to look out for any potential threats to the school, including an active shooter situation.
“Really the focus is to highlight security weak points to ensure safely located within the school they work in conjunction with DPS ( Department For Public Safety ) and addition within the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department). They work hard every single day to locate points of places where they think a shooter may come out of and really pinning those places, observing those weak points. Based on these findings they put together a plan that can ensure safety for their staff, students and guests.”
Ley said she’s less concerned about safety issues than she is about Capitol Hill.
“ So like, those things don’t worry me, like I said, the thing that worried me was more like the politics that fall behind the protections,” Ley said. “Like, why is it that–not that I feel that 18 year olds should consume alcohol–but 18 year olds can’t consume alcohol, yet they can buy an a rifle or some kind of weapon. It just doesn’t, it doesn’t add up at all.”
School Shootings: Parents Coping With The New Normal
By Troi-Lin Moore
The Struggle Is Real
Kids Coping With Trauma From AR-15s To COVID-19
By Miguel Hernandez
Yeshuwa Jacabo is what you might call an ideal student. He is involved in multiple school organizations — including the Associated Student Body cabinet, and he also founded Belmont Senior High’s student activism club. He hopes one day to become a politician.
His motivation for becoming a politician stems from the lack of representation he believes his people receive. Jacabo is a multiracial student with a Hispanic father and an African American mother.
Two months ago, the sophomore was surfing the net when he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.
“I was going through social media, looking through the stories of the people I follow andI saw a post about a school shooting in Texas,” Jacabo said. “Remembering I had family in Texas, I quickly called them.”
School shootings is just one of the triggers currently affecting Jacabo. As a person of color, he’s well aware of the challenges he faces daily. That’s one of the reasons why he wants to enter politics.
“When I hear sirens near, I stiffen up because I am concerned they may mistake me for someone else or accuse me of wrongdoing,” Jacabo said. “But I am more worried about my siblings and relatives and how they would react.”
Since the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, Jacabo has been fearful and worried. This school shooting resulted in the deaths of 19 innocent children and two teachers after an 18-year-old gunman armed with an assault weapon opened fire at the Robb Elementary School. Jacabo’s dread and concern stemmed not only from his status as a student in the United States, but also from the fact that his 5-year-old cousin, who lives in Texas, was only an hour away from the incident.
“I felt for the families the shooting had impacted and I hope they can recover,” he said.
Despite this occurrence’s detrimental impact on his mental health, he has begun to advocate for stricter gun restrictions and better school security.
“I am afraid that things will not change if we do not change as a nation,” Jacabo said. “We must change so that children do not fear going to school and parents do not have to worry about their child’s safety.”
Until then, he will continue to advocate for what he believes will help the world, America, his community, and his people.
Is Homeschooling A Better Option For Worried Parents?
It depends who you ask
By Ryan Kim
Parents sobbing, a school in chaos and distress, and the sirens with their piercing wails ringing. As soon as the shooter was captured, people started writing stories about him and calling him a murderer. While the media spreads the story throughout the world using the internet and social media. This situation can happen during school shootings and has been increasing dramatically, especially in 2021–2022, an example being the Uvalde, Texas shooting in May.
Now parents are considering if homeschooling would be better for their children.
The debate over homeschooling has increased over the past decade as school shootings have increased. Many have listed pros and cons but now it seems that the Texas shooting has resulted in more concern for panicked parents.
Amy Hust, a homeschool mom, said, “Those kids are coming from a public school, they know how they’re keeping the school safe.”
She is concerned for public schools because school shooters may be teenagers and know where students hide because of the practice drills. Hust says that the schools near her area used to be very open when she was a child but are now more closed off. She also mentioned that parents wear a lanyard if they ever go inside the buildings to keep the school safe.
Hust believes that homeschooling would be a better option for some parents if their kids feel unsafe at school, but warns it can be challenging.
“I can be on their schedule of learning and being at her pace instead of her being at school and being bored,” Hust said.
Prof. Taj Frazier from the University of Southern California Annenberg School has three children and slightly disagrees. He believes that the school his kids attend has security guards to ensure their safety. While there’s no guarantee that nothing will happen, extra security does provide more protections. When asked if he would consider staying home to teach his kids, Frazier said that he’d “rather have real teachers teaching his kids in person or online” while he and his wife went to work.
Alan Mittelstaedt, an associate professor of professional practice at USC Annenberg, says that “It’s tempting to avoid all dangers in life but at what cost? If we just stay home with our parents and sibling, we lose a bit of our ability with social life interaction to get along with others.”
However, in an article written by Richard Medlin at Stetson University, Medellin writes that parents who are concerned about their children’s social life can join support groups to stay connected with others. Another study showed that homeschooled children were friendlier and more engaging while kids who attended traditional schools were loud, rude and hyper-competitive.
And, according to ThinkImpact, homeschooled children had a higher graduation rate, chose homeschooling for a safer environment, and performed above average on the SAT and ACT tests.
It’s no wonder homeschooling has become a tempting option for parents who are concerned for their children’s safety especially after a series of school shootings in the past two decades.
Ready Or Not: Teachers Preparing Lesson Plans In Survival
By Joseph Dominguez
Stacey Rodriguez is a substitute teacher at an elementary school in Huntington Park. Having children of her own going to the same school where she teaches, Rodriguez is afraid of the possibilities — that a gunman could enter her classroom.
Like many educators, Rodriguez has been spooked by the recent school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. of a school shooter entering her classroom — the reason being the recent shootings at Uvalde, Texas. After hearing the news, she didn’t even want to go to work, fearful that all of the active shooter training that she’s done would not be enough.
“I have to put faith in their teachers to take care of my children,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez also trusts that other schools have done the same training that she has. There are multiple ways that teachers are able to keep their students safe in case of a school shooting. Rodriguez’ school has magnetic locks that can be easily used to lock doors instantly, with no way to open them from the outside. These magnetic locks were used because they are small and discrete enough that the students do not know their real purpose.
Natalia Ulmer, an LAUSD teacher has been trained as well. She feels like the school has taught them well and established good guidelines as to what to do. Ulmer believes that the best way to prevent these shootings from happening in the first place is to keep a close eye on the mental health of students.
While teachers may be in the loop of what to do, the counselors/college advisors are not. Sussana Salinas, a college advisor, has not been prepared on what to do at all. Yet she still has to bear the responsibility of protecting students. She just has to do her best to use her instinct.
LAPD Sgt. Keith Mott warns that teachers should follow the instructions given to them.
A former sergeant for LAPD. His advice for faculty is to just follow the instruction given to them. As police officers, they have no idea what is going inside. They have to be very cautious, often relying on tips from people with valuable information to determine how they should handle the situation with the appropriate protocol.
The one thing most educators agree upon is the need for better gun control legislation.
A common opinion among them is that there should be more gun control legislation.
“We are humans, obviously so we can’t be trained perfectly, but we are trained to see certain things, hear certain things,” Ulmer says.
But for Rodriguez, who is in charge of more minor children, the topic of death is a more tricky subject. While she would like to have a more serious discussion, her students are not really aware of the gravity of the situation.
“Prepare for the worst, prepare for the best,” Rodriguez said.
That sentiment can be shared among many educators. They never know if they’ll be next. They just have to trust their instincts and stay prepared.
Just When We Started To Breathe Again…
More shots were fired
By Ava DeJesus
For a teen, a regular morning routine might include: getting up, washing up, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and then heading off to school.
But sometimes the routine gets disrupted like it did on May 24 when 19 kids and two teachers were killed at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
There it was — the anxiety every child, parent, and teacher faces daily. The fear and dread of a school shooting. What happens during a school shooting? What do you do to keep safe during a school shooting? How do you feel about the possibility of a school shooting happening at your school?
This is the new normal, and these are all the questions we now have to ask ourselves. The trauma of witnessing the aftermath of these shootings in the form of memorials on television and parents embracing one another, hoping it is not their child.
Jefferson High School student Eden Collaco says that, “The pandemic has had a huge impact on people’s mental health, which made more people try to buy guns and get access to them.”
This trauma of school shootings is compounded in the post-COVID-19 world we live in. Dealing with the trauma and isolation during the pandemic plays into the increased number of shootings. Now we question whether there are more shootings in post-COVID-19? And how has the virus mentally affected our youth and the onslaught of school shootings?
There were many mass shootings during the pandemic lockdown and in the months that followed when masks were no longer required and the vaccines proved that we could resume at least part of our normal lives. As students headed back to school there were reports of not only being scared of contracting COVID, but also the fear of school shootings starting up again.
This notion created panic, fear, and in the U.S. Some statistical polls showed that more people were considering homeschooling their kids. The LA Times reported in January that a U.S. Census Bureau analysis. found that the percentage of at least one child in a family being homeschooled rose from 5.4% in the spring of 2020 to 11.1% in the fall of 2021.
Luckily, school shootings have not hurt everyone. Most people have school safety measures in place to protect them from occurrences like this, usually used in some public or private schools. People have also taken action to help prevent school shootings by social activism and contacting their local representatives to take measures to end gun violence. Even with activism and safety measures, it’s hard for everyone to stay safe due to the random occurrences of school shootings. They can happen anywhere at anytime.
Michelle Arenda, a student counselor at the University of Southern California, is a parent of a high school student. She, like other parents in the U.S., is concerned for her children’s well-being and safety. “I feel children are protected at their school, but I’m also scared every day when they leave the house,” she said.
Students are also concerned for their safety.
Noelle Matthews is a senior at an all-girls private school. She’s concerned about her younger brother who attends a public school because she wonders if there are sufficient safety measures in place. Matthews thinks we all have to stay alert and speak up.
“If you see something, say something,” she said.
Kylie Charfen-Horvath is a student at Da Vinci Design. Both she and Collaco attend schools that received threats of an upcoming school shooting. A classmate of Collaco’s little sister claimed that they were going to kill students. They had to lock the schools down for a couple of weeks. Horvath and Collaco were scared and worried for their families’ and friends’ safety.
According to an article about school shootings on violence at ww.chop.edu, the most disturbing effects of school shootings are “the feeling of ongoing danger that permeates schools where they have occurred. The school’s climate and sense of community are profoundly damaged.”
The Center for Violence Prevention states: “basic facts, describes the complex set of factors that commonly contribute to mass shootings, and suggests ways to address them in the United States — with a goal that we all work together to develop and implement comprehensive effective strategies that will reduce the toll of these tragic events.”
This statement shows that we had to prevent guns from being given to any people and should be given to the government for our protection. If you don’t, then more and more people will die due to school shootings and our mental health may continue to deteriorate.
How Safe Are Our Schools?
And, what’s the plan to keep them that way?
By Danielle Workman
The United States, especially in the past few years, has dealt with an upsurge in mass shootings and protests over gun control laws. Most recently, the nation was shocked by the tragic events in Uvalde, Texas where 19 students and teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
These mass shootings at schools in Texas, Parkland, Fla., Newton, Conn. and other places have increased the anxiety of parents and students who fear that it could happen in their community as well.
Are steps being taken to resolve these issues and protect students?
Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD), a city in California near Pasadena, has put safety measures in place to combat the threats of gun violence, or any violence in general towards the students enrolled in all of its schools.
“In our most recent facility renovations across the district, all campuses received border security fencing and controlled entrances through a front office or office-controlled main gate with a buzzer system and camera. Only the main entrance remains an access point after the school day begins so that all traffic coming on the campus can be directed and monitored. We have also recently added additional security cameras, locked gates, and increased lighting,” said Ryan Foran, Chief Communications Officer of AUSD.
“We are extremely fortunate to have a strong partnership with the Arcadia Police Department, and our staff and Superintendent work directly with the Arcadia Police Chief, Roy Nakamura, to collaborate on all our site crisis plans including active shooter drills,” Foran added. “Each site has a campus-specific plan for lockdown and immediate communications with police if there is ever an intruder or safety risk to students and staff.”
Schools are taking several precautions in order to protect our students from these situations and any possible harm coming their way. Leigh Chavez, the President of the Arcadia Unified School District Board of Education describes their protocol.
“There are so many more safety layers in place. Both physically like fences and buzz-ins and locked campuses and more lockdown drills and all of those things, but more importantly, the focus on making sure students feel connected to school. Almost always when these incidents happen, the perpetrator is someone that feels isolated or bullied or very disconnected. We need to make sure that our students know that people care and that there’s someone they can talk to. There’s a lot of problems in this world and I think kids sometimes feel like they have to carry it all alone. I really hope that our students and our faculty know that we have resources and people who want to support them and want to give them tools to help,” said Chavez.
Outside the scope of elementary, middle, and high schools, universities and colleges also receive these threats and take precautions to protect the safety of their students.
“There are several protocols that we at USC have been working on honing over the last few years that I think will definitely be reviewed and put into protocols,” said Desa Philadelphia, a University of Southern California Communications and Development Writer, “One protocol that has been instituted already for the coming school year is being more aware of who’s accessing the campus facilities. Only certain people within certain hours will be able to swipe in using their card. This has always been the case, but it’s going to be stricter and more monitored in terms of what times different members of the community can access different facilities.”
Universities like USC also undergo Active Shooter Training and other programs in order to minimize the damage if a situation were to happen. USC Department of Public Safety Community Service Officer Timothy Henry described the several trainings they have to equip staff with the techniques they need to survive attacks like these.
“The Department of Public Safety has designed many safety training programs for the people of the USC community. Our several programs give staff, students, and faculty directions of what to do in the event of an active shooter on campus, outlining the ‘Run, Hide, or Fight’ options people have,” said Henry.
“For the last few years, we’ve had campus police and other personnel from LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) come to give talks about what to do in the event of an active shooter situation,” Philadelphia described.
USC also holds many drills for several kinds of events: fire, earthquakes, other natural disasters, etc., as well as active shooter situations. Preparation for all types of emergencies is the main component for lessening the chance of a scenario like these to happen or cause damage to staff and students.
“I think anytime a tragedy occurs it’s a good time to reflect. It’s a good time to consider what happened in that situation. Is there something there we can learn from? Is there something that maybe went off the rails that we can put in place to be preemptive and plan ahead?” Chavez commented.
Schools across the nation are reflecting about these different situations and practicing for every scenario they can imagine. Learning from others’ mistakes is the best method to determine what an individual school needs to work on.
“Safety is truly our top priority in Arcadia. We recognize that learning is stifled if students and teachers are not in an environment in which they feel safe and secure. We often go well above the state requirements in many of these areas and have dedicated staff who spend their own time volunteering on committees, going to training, and doing whatever they can to make our students and staff as safe as possible,” Foran explained.
Overall, our schools are taking or have taken appropriate measures, such as border security, collaborations with the local police force, and consistent protocol review, to prevent the risk of mass shootings as much as they can. It is impossible for one to be truly prepared for any of these threats, but schools are constantly adapting to developments and situations elsewhere to determine the best next steps for the safety of our students.
Trauma And The Psychology Behind It
Psychologists on how to deal with it
By Jonathan Dong
Trauma, as a whole entity, is an incredibly complex mental response that takes up many different forms among victims. Trauma is stereotypically thought of as the emotional response to a terrifying and petrifying event, in drastic opposition to its reality. Many people, especially children, can develop trauma over time due to constant exposure to a variety of issues. The types of trauma brought about differ from case to case, however, with an underlying keynote as the outbreak of multiple negative influences.
According to Dr. Kim Finney, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma and PTSD, trauma is similar to the completion of a puzzle. “All of the negative factors play in, and once the breaking point is filled in, then the patient will start developing some mental trauma.” She described the traumatic development process as all of the outside influences starting to pile up, until all factors reach the brain capacity. Once the mental limit is fully reached, the trauma development process begins.
However, this case of developing trauma changes from person to person, some with lower and higher tolerance to traumatic events. Dr Finney described the rates of PTSD and trauma being “70–80% of people that are exposed to what we would call a traumatic event, do not develop PTSD. The majority of PTSD cases are rather rare.
“The event of developing PTSD is fairly rare, and there is no real identifiable cause. However, “during the Vietnam conflict” said Dr. Finney. “The rates were kind of like 30–40%. So it just depends, we don’t know who’s more vulnerable than not to get it.”
PTSD is the collection of multiple chronic traumatic events that eventually lead to the threshold of mental instability. Dr. Quade French of the USC Wellness Center, agrees with Dr. Finney’s assessment of PTSD.
“Everyone might be bothered when they are kind of feeling stressed or anxious,” French said. “But not everyone will develop full blown Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Trauma looks different for everybody. And everybody may have a different process in resolving their trauma.”
All of her cases are unique in and of themselves, as they are simply of human beings who wish to receive mental help and counseling. Dr. Finney wishes to share her down to earth sentiment of the human mind and human psychology. “They’re all unique. Right? And they’re all unique so we don’t grow military service members in a cabbage packed backyard right? We’re all connected or related to someone who loved them or they loved. And it’s not just about the soldier or there’s, you know, collateral effects associated with it.”
Due to the variety of cases, Dr. Finney uses multiple different types of treatment in her therapeutic and psychologic sessions. For PTSD survivors especially, her help tends to vary. “It varies from psychosocial interventions to medication to the biggest consistent factor in terms of outcome, which is social support. Individuals tend to have, you know, good friends, family, and social groups who tend to help them maintain their social functionality.”
She also stated that her therapeutic treatments would tend to differ on different age groups as well. “You have to approach each person as an individual and there have to be age appropriate interventions. They don’t give the same dose of a vaccine as they do to a kid than to an adult. Someone that’s aging may not have the cognitive ability as someone that’s 21 or 22. And, you know, an eight year old doesn’t have the same cognitive ability as someone that’s 22. Right? So it’s, you alter, or, you know, or shape, or design, the intervention to the developmental age of the person.”
For children especially, she described her treatment process as more gentle and warm-hearted. “You build a rapport, it’s part of your training. Right? You build a report, sometimes you can use art therapy, play therapy, sand therapy, to help them to express how they’re feeling or what they’re going through. You let them talk.” Dr. Finney states.
She also offers her perspective in light of the recent gun violence and mass shootings, especially of the one that took place in Uvalde. So I guess I want to say, you know, you can have no experience with gun violence directly and still care about access to firearms. Right, what I have experienced or not, is not the question.
The question is, as an individual citizen of this country, is it okay for these killing weapons to be easily accessible to people who can’t yet buy alcohol, but can buy an AK, you know, an automatic gun? And so, if you’re asking me personally what I think about it, I don’t think there should even be a debate about it. I don’t see a need. Military individuals who carry guns on a daily basis don’t have those, and police officers don’t have those. So why are we allowing them to be bought by kids who are killing other kids?
Through Dr. Finney’s personal experiences and cases, she believes that hose who may be suffering from some type of trauma or mental instability will learn how to cope through therapy and realization.
“These are all human experiences,” she said. “And that, you know, that’s really the peas and carrots of psychology, right? They’re human experiences. And no one can escape from them. Those human experiences you have and I have are different human experiences but they’re all part of being in this universe.”
Healing Is A Family Affair
USC expert on working through trauma
By Sarah Mian
“We are all in this together.”
This is an often-used phrase when families are expressing how to get through tough times–especially when coping with trauma. Believing that we are all in this together can play an impactful role in the healing process.
During a Zoom interview with USC Prof. Danielle Brown of the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. A licensed clinical social worker, Brown offered advice on coping with trauma as a family. Her areas of focus involve working as a dance movement therapist and EMDR therapist with a focus on trauma and working with creativity and movement such as dance to solve trauma.
“What we know now is that trauma is a nervous system response, so it is held in the body. You need to work with the body to help resolve trauma,” she said.
When it comes to dealing with the trauma families experience during school shootings, Brown explained that the level of pain is very traumatic because it is out of our “daily human existence.” It ends up overwhelming our nervous system, making us feel powerless, helpless, or hopeless.
When it comes to dealing with the trauma families experience during school shootings, Brown explained that the level of pain is very traumatic because it is out of our “daily human existence.” It ends up overwhelming our nervous system, making us feel powerless, helpless, or hopeless.
The word trauma has to do with this overwhelming threat of annihilation to the self or a life-threatening situation. Events like school shootings lead to trauma on different levels, starting with the student on an individual level, then the family level, then the school and then the whole community, such as Uvalde. Trauma affects daily life because the trauma response has to do with our body’s flight fright or freeze response. This response is a part of a survival instinct in our bodies and brain that is second nature to us.
When someone experiences trauma our nervous system is stuck in the flight or fight response, making it seem like we are reliving the experience repeatedly. This ties into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because when the nervous system is stuck at this moment people start having flashbacks, panic attacks, changes in mood and intrusive thoughts like the memories of the event will come flooding back.
Ironically, even though this interview was conducted before the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park, Ill., Brown talked about that holiday.
“Fourth of July is coming up, and fireworks sound a lot like gunshots, so I can imagine for a lot of people [like this happens for a lot of veterans], I can imagine for people in Uvalde the fireworks can be a really big trigger right because the sound of fireworks sounds like gunshots,” she said. “Hearing that might trigger almost bring them back to the moment of hearing gunfire, and almost at the moment, hearing fireworks can make them feel like, oh my god, I am back in the classroom, or for a parent standing outside the room or standing outside the school hearing gunshots. So that is what happens when the nervous systems are so activated suck in the moment of the really horrifying event.”
When it comes to the flight and fight response, Brown explained the idea of working with the integrated body-mind approach with the focus of recovering from the trauma through the nature of dance movement and creative expression to get out of the fight or flight response. With the flight, fright, or freeze response, we either stay and fight, run away, or we might stay and freeze.
“So when you hear anybody say ‘sometimes like I should have run like why didn’t I fight back, why didn’t I do anything,’ it’s because literally our bodies just freeze and we have no choice,” Brown said.. “Why somebody might fight, why somebody might run away, Why one person’s nervous system does one thing, and somebody else’s does another, we do not really know. But really, the brain is just there to make sure we survive that, so that is the main goal.”
When a person says that they do not have a clear memory of the event, it’s because the brain sometimes shuts down like the front of our brain. The parts of our brain responsible for the language or putting together a timeline malfunctions, making it hard for the person to describe the traumatic event. This is a part of the bottom-up therapy method where you work with the body first and then move to the brain.
Recovery is also a process.
“Being successful working with trauma happens when we work in a relationship,” Brown says. This is because trauma has to do with fear and anxiety a person experiences, so part of healing from the trauma is connecting through a relationship with other people that make you feel safe.
“The anecdote to fear is safety,” she added, which is a key factor in the healing process. We can use methods like body-based interventions to make the body feel like a safe place to be. A big part is including people in helping the individual, family, school, and community involvement to feel safe. The different levels are all part of a system that needs to work together for the best way to cope with trauma.
Ava DeJesus, a high school student who was just in kindergarten when there was a shooting at her own school in Cabrillo, shared her memory. As a young child, she was unaware of what was happening, but her parents still gave her love and support during this time. Now that she is older and knows what happened, she is happy that her parents helped her how they did by acting as her support system.
Brown said that being present and showing you are there for the person is essential and helpful. When it comes to coping and healing, everyone has a different timeline and tolerance, and it is important to respect that. Promoting available resources and showing support and care are beneficial during this time. It is also important for the caretakers to take care of themselves during this time to prevent them from developing vicarious trauma, which is when the people who are working with or are around people who are highly traumatized develop trauma symptoms themselves.
Brown’s most significant take away from her many years of working in this field is that she is amazed at how resilient and adaptable people are. It brings hope that people can live with what has happened to them, and instead of focusing on the negative, they grow, change and heal.
Mental Health: An Inside Take
By Paola Mani
Mental health continues to be an issue society faces. Whether leaders acknowledge the recurring issue or ignore it, mental health has fundamentally affected the way ordinary people (moms, dads, and grandparents) view health issues in general.
The consequences of the pandemic shined a light on this issue as there was increased awareness in mainstream media. It became more acceptable as media outlets made people aware of call centers, clinics and other places they could get help.
There was a new acceptance and that gave hope to people in the midst of pandemic. However, once the country reopened its doors to normalcy, a new kind of normalcy occurredー shootings.
The Uvalde school shooting, in particular, took society’s progress and reversed it. Not only were elementary school children involved, but the shooter was a teenager. A teenager who failed to receive the help he needed.
“People tend to not take us, [teens], seriously, more of the stereotype of oh, mental health does not exist, it is not important. I think it has to become aware more and taken seriously” said Natalia Vasquez, who was exploring the University of Southern California campus.
How do you define mental health?
There are many definitions, mostly tied to depression, the blues, loneliness, isolation and hopelessness.
“I define mental health as very important in people’s lives, like it’s something people should focus on,” said USC student Misa Longton. “I value mental health — especially since I’ve dealt with depression and anxiety since I was like 10. It’s something that’s part of my life, every day.”
Elliot Wang, another USC student, paused a bit before answering the question. “How would I define what mental health is? Like how you feel most of the time, like the ratio between happy and unhappy.”
Why do you think teenagers, in particular, struggle with mental health?
“I think most of it is from social media because like we compare ourselves a lot, especially since we see these perfect lives from influencers and then we want to have that and we think we’re not perfect,” said Isabella Vasquez, the sister of Natalia.
Wang added, “Because there is a lot of stress put upon them. Their parents put pressure on them in terms of academics.”
Longton agreed with both women.
“I think teenagers in particular struggle with mental health because you’re in between being a kid and an adult. You’re told to be an adult, but also to be a kid, yet also have fun. What do I do? It’s kinda a confusing time, there’s a lot of pressure,” Longton said.
What do you want to see in terms of mental health progression?
“I feel like parents should really listen to their children, let them cry and scream, and let out their frustrations. The longer they hold it in, the more it’ll grow, grow, grow, and obviously, it’ll explode. And, then at that point, you somewhat lost the kid in that process” said Molly Estrada, a 19-year-old college student.
Kadija Kargbr, a pedestrian, professed, “It feels very overwhelming and heavy. Sometimes I just wanna give up and not try at all then other times, there really is no point in that. The first step to feeling better and making change is to believe that you can, to believe that it’s possible.”
As a high school psychologist, what do you hope to assist students with?
“A lot of it is trying to make sure that the students are mentally ok, and they’re dealing with their emotions well,” Julie Vidal, a psychologist at Hawthorne Math and Science Academy.
What happens when a student’s case becomes too much?
Vidal explained, “If it’s mental health like they feel that they can’t figure out how to make themselves function, whether it’s because they’re grieving or dealing with financial difficulties, or just stress in general, then I refer to our mental health agencies [for extra help].”
Mental health is real. Society needs to understand teenagers, listen to them. Acceptance is key.
By Danielle Workman
The dancers, exasperated and out of breath, finish the final movement. The entire theater goes silent, the audience letting out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. Then, everything erupts into applause, tears, and an explosion of emotion. Dance and any art form, be it performing or visual, are powerful tools to heal and communicate without having to use words.
According to Tiffany Young, a dance and math teacher at First Avenue Middle School in Arcadia, CA, and assistant director of Orchesis Dance Academy, the arts play an important role in helping people get over traumatic events like the most recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, N.Y.
“I remember being in college and highschool while classes, life, and even relationships were very stressful. I loved coming into a dance class and telling myself to take these thoughts out of my brain and simply focus on the class. Having this intense focus on what I was doing in the class not only improved my dancing, performance, and technique, but allowed me to come out of it feeling refreshed and ready to take on the stresses and worries in my life,” said Young.
Hannah Pung, a dancer for Pasadena Civic Ballet Senior Company, agreed, “I have found that when something is bothering me, dancing helps me briefly clear my mind. I think that with so many styles of dance, and the amount of emotion you can put into it, dance is easily used as a form of expression and release.”
John Paszkiewicz, a Pasadena Civic Ballet Senior Company dancer, agreed with the sentiments of Pung and Young.
“I think that taking a ballet class for an hour allows me to not have to think about anything else except what my body is doing. If I have a bad day, it definitely brightens my mood and relieves my stress. I like it because it’s artistic and it helps me concentrate on things that are other than my problems,” said Paszkiewicz.
Some dancers specifically find choreography, or the action of creating a routine of movement, particularly healing. Breanne Orlowsky, Lead Director of Orchesis Dance Company, shared her experience in performing one’s choreography and choreographing her own pieces.
“One of my mentors that I had growing up as a dancer choreographed a whole entire piece about the Holocaust and it was her way to identify with her culture as a Jewish person. The whole entire piece was just structured around the Holocaust, what it was like going through the process like as a Jew, and for her it was very healing because she had relatives that went through internment camps. It was a way for her to identify with that experience on a personal note,” said Orlowsky.
Orlowsky reflected about her own personal experience, “Everything that I’ve choreographed has some type of connection to me emotionally. For example, one piece that I choreographed was about my mental anxiety, my subconscious, and how I perceive myself. The piece was all about learning how to fight against that and not letting those things overpower you. I think there’s so many different ways that a person can connect to that.
“I think choreographing definitely helps with the healing process because it allows you to identify what it is that you’re feeling in a way that makes sense for you. So many artists find ways to identify and heal through, whether that’s painting, whether that’s playing music, and for dancers, it’s through movement. That part has always been very attractive for me because it’s a way for me to put what I can’t say into movement,” Orlowsky added.
Not only do dancers feel the healing nature of performing movement, but any of the viewing public can. Even watching people express a story or emotion with movement can be an opportunity for growth and enrichment.
“I remember vividly watching a piece about addiction. For anyone, not even just dancers, getting the opportunity to watch choreography about these hard topics can connect them to something that they’re feeling or their own personal struggles — and they can realize they are not alone. One can see this and with the combination of the music, the costumes, the facials, the movement, and everything, it develops into this entire experience,” Young described.
Especially as events keep unfolding in our society as of late, dance can be a respite from all of the anxieties of our modern world.
“Dance has been extremely beneficial for me in relieving my anxiety, especially during a time where there was an increase in mass shootings as there was so much going on dance-wise during this time. I have been able to use dance to keep my mind off what’s going on in America lately,” Pung explained.
“I remember the day I heard we had threats of gun violence at our school. I went to dance class. It not only relieved my stress, but I could be with the community and safe space that dance fosters. It felt good and I felt safe at dance,” Paszkiewicz commented.
All in all, the community and self-expression dance fosters is what makes the performing arts such a successful industry. Dancers and audience members alike can appreciate the messages and emotions the performance conveys and it is a healing experience for both groups.
“I’m not one with words so that’s why dance was always something that really helped me because I could say or express what it is that I wanted to without actually having to say it,” Orkowsky said. “I feel like musicians do the same with music, and painters do the same with painting. That’s what makes art so special. It’s a way to communicate with others without actually communicating. I’ve known people that I’ve danced with who have gone through traumatic events and have been able to find healing through movement, art, and dance.”
Using The Arts to Heal The Pain: Musical Artist Rocky Rivera’s Story
By Io Lim-Ontiveros
Krishtine De Leon, otherwise known as Rocky Rivera, is a local rapper and native of San Francisco. Starting her activism journey through a pioneering high school cohort focused on critical pedagogy, she grew to release a collection of raw, emotional albums such as “Gangster Love” and “Rocky’s Revenge” later on in her successful music career.
With catchy beats and vulnerable lyrics, she never fails to engage her listeners through critical dialogue about systemic oppression, industry sexism, and white supremacy. Along with the deliverance of these crucial messages, she also provides her audience with uplifting messages promoting feminism politics in songs such as “P — y Kills” and “Turn You,” while simultaneously representing the Filipina-American community by embracing her Asian heritage in the heart of her music.
Being a first generation Filipina-American woman, Rivera is avid on taking the responsibility to aid proper representation of Filipino artists, mainly because the hip-hop industry was, and still is, lacking genuine effort in portraying the Asian American communities within pop culture.
“For me, becoming an artist is being able to filter history in a way no one else would be able to. Being an artist, making music, and performing for people is like reciting history, which is a very deep cultural tradition for Filipinos,” Rivera said during a Zoom interview.
Growing up, she also expressed difficulty in finding role models that she could ethnically relate to.
“There was nobody that looked like me,” she said emphatically. “Not only that, there was nobody that was talking about the things I was curious about.”
Despite these hurdles, she was inspired by musical artists like Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, and Lil Kim, as well as queer Black feminists like Bell Hooks and Jun Jordan. Rivera felt that she was able to adopt important values and philosophy by enveloping herself in the arms of Black female culture.
“Black women are the ones that really taught me the culture of being an unapologetic woman,” she says.
The values that she learned from these powerful Black female figures are deeply intertwined into the messages that she extends to her audience today. While there is a dominant pressure to engage in the boastful aspects of hip-hop’s artform — Rivera is adamant on the idea that the most meaningful music comes from the expression of heartfelt emotions, especially ones of trauma.
“The best artists use their emotions to go deep, so that people truly understand how they feel,” she says.
Asking her to elaborate further on the healing properties that art can bring in regards to trauma, she responded extensively on the subject. “I was very angry while I was writing ‘Rocky’s Revenge.’ I was talking about being tired of the patriarchy — being tired of targeted women because they wanted autonomy for their bodies. We, as women, still haven’t received our justice, so it’s not just about the anger of a reactionary moment — it’s a long, sustained anger that I hoped to capture in that album,” Rivera said.
“It’s not just about healing from the trauma of a traumatic event anyway, because how much can you heal when the wound keeps opening? We can’t heal from something that is continuously happening, but if art was something that people had as a part of their entire lives, they could express themselves freely and be cared for — in turn reducing the violence we experience,” she says.
Rocky Rivera during our Zoom interview.
In terms of the political facet of hip-hop, Rivera was more than happy to dive deep into her personal insight in regards to creating strong impressions on political standpoints. She joked about hip-hop being referred to as ‘the CNN of the streets’, due to its embellished info and persuasive storytelling through music, but also mentioned the hurdles of being taken seriously due to hip-hop’s dumbed-down stereotypes in the media.
“Hip-hop is a progressive art form — it still has a lot of potential if used properly. But since capitalism and record labels are only putting out hip-hop that is dumb as shit, people now have such a short attention span for it,” Rivera explains. “You want art to be diverse. You want art to be provoking and shocking to wake us up from the bullshit that society has taught us to normalize in order to beat us down and crush our spirits.” Rivera hopes that with time, the younger generations of today will feel comfortable enough to express themselves both politically and emotionally without the gatekeeping of societal censorship. “I have faith that young people will be able to create art that will challenge the status quo, as well as being able to focus on art that speaks out about the issues that affect us all as a community,” she says.
As our interview came to a close, Rivera made emphasized the importance of consistency and diligence when learning any new artform. Along with her ending note, she encouraged the practice of remembering our own culture and personal values when applying it to self-expression.
“It’s like the elders in my community saying, ‘Don’t forget where we came from, and don’t forget what we fought for’.”
The Fear Factor
Women and the men that love them are being more cautious about their physical and mental health
By Lindsey Vasquez
Do you ever wonder how many women are afraid to walk alone at night? Actually, it was 32% in 2018 but has risen to 63% in 2022.
When women live alone, are afraid of the dark or are experiencing other psychological issues,fear of the unknown is common-even in the broad daylight. These days you never know when something could happen — like Monday’s mass shooting in Highland Park, lll., or the Robb Elementary school shooting in May.
It used to be that you could attend a Fourth of July parade without fear of getting shot. There was also a time when parents could drop their child off at school and not be concerned about their safety.
But is it a safe place? Is anywhere safe for women in light of Roe v. Wade, #meetoo and other physical and mental issues women must face?
Face it. For some women pepper spray is your best friend.
Some people pick on women because they feel they are weak. At the University of Southern California, the Dept . Of Public Safety sends out daily notices detailing robbery attempts, sexual assaults and other crimes. More often than not the victims are women.
Jose Rodgugez is the father of two small girls. He admitted that he gets nervous when his daughters go places alone, or even when they are together.
“You never know what will happen,”he said “There are too many crazy people out there. YOu might be prepared, but someone never knows”
USC student Paris Grier fears go beyond her personal safety. She’s Afraid of losing her rights.
“I am working the same as a man but getting paid less than a man,” she said.
And then there’s abortion. That right has been taken away in some states.
USC student Mihir Somaiya expressed his fear of women not having their voices heard or being able to say what they need to say to fight for their rights. He feels that in order for women to make change, they need to be able, ”to speak to each other,” he said. “Seeing women go against each other instead of working to together causing them to communicate.”
Ady Chidanand is an Annerberg graduate student. She says that her biggest fears about being woman is not being able to diffuse a challenging situation where she can’t help herself.
“You can take all the karate classes in the world and still not be safe,” she said. “I encourage women to take self defense classes as a great way to protect themselves without any weapons.”
Chidanand also fears for the future of women when it comes to interpersonal relationships. She agrees with Somaiya in that women need to complement each other more and compete against each other less.
Catherin Herles never feels entirely safe. She’s always on guard, prepared to use her keys for a weapon if she has to. Herles is also afraid of where America is headed. She want’s more security at schools, and the Roe V. Wade reversed.
”“Our future women need the same rights as us, actually even better having the choice of their body have the right to get the same education,” she said.
