PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia high school students on Wednesday gathered at LaSalle University to discuss strategies for protecting themselves amid a rise in gun violence.
The original intent of the S.A.F.E. Summit was a citywide meeting of students to discuss how they can get to school and back unharmed. However, with 78 Philadelphia students shot this school year — and 17 of them killed, as of Monday — the S.A.F.E. coalition (Students Advocating for Everyone) widened its focus to address gun violence overall.
The summit was the idea of Girls High freshman Nashiyah Hurst, who says the trip to and from school can be dangerous.
“There are some people who are abusing drugs on the street, who are sitting there, like, terrorizing people or following people, asking them for a dollar,” Hurst said.
“I don’t want to see another teenager like me on the street without a name on a headline for the news channel.”
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Girls High senior Iya Nealy says seeing people her age dying is “crazy.” “It’s really insane, and it’s hard to see — because that could be me,” she said.
Five-dozen students from 13 high schools shared their fears and their ideas about how to cope with so much violence. Girls High senior Iya Nealy said that dialogue is essential.
“If we’re not talking to each other, then we don’t know how each other feels. Like, ‘I feel unsafe, but maybe I’m the only one who feels this way,’” Nealy said. “When you’re talking with other people who feel the same way, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m not the only one.’”
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She said students need better relationships with police.
“We just need to feel safe when we see them. Like, okay, this is the police, and they’re going to help me. Sometimes it’s a lot of stigma around police and students of color,” Nealy said.
Students suggested other strategies including developing an app for students to check in when they get home safely, and having a system of travel buddies to school and back.