Gun Safety

On Wednesday, February 28, 2018, a threat was received about a shooting on the San Jose State University campus. The threat was written inside a women’s restroom in Dudley Moorhead Hall. The police were made aware of the situation and conducted a thorough investigation. Although it seemed like the threat was minor, they still took precautions and cancelled classes in that area and made students and faculty aware of the situation. Luckily, no shooting happened that day.

With the media coverage surrounding the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, people are  thinking about safety within schools and how often school shootings really happen. According to Everytown For Gun Safety, there has been approximately 160 school shootings from the years 2013-2015. This number includes a combination of multiple types of violence during the school shootings, including: suicides, homicides, injuries, and no injuries at all.

Since February 20, 2018, right after the Parkland school shooting, the number of school shooting rose to 18 in this year alone. Although, that number is very high, the definition of school shootings can be misconstrued. This number is accounted for shootings that has happened on school property/ grounds, meaning that some have been accidents, some did not involve students at all, and some happened after hours.

According to Snopes, as of February 20, 2018, the number of school shootings is 18. Of those 18 shootings, 7 were attack shootings that has been during school hours, 5 resulted in injuries. 2 happened outside of school hours, but on school property. 5 were accidental shots, 1 was a suicide attempt, and 2 were random stray bullets fired at the school.

I think that school shootings are starting to become this notion that people are afraid all the time, especially for students. It has started to instill fear in a lot of people. There has been some talk about militarization in the school system and wanting to arm teachers with weapons to protect students from potential attacks. This could seem like a semi good idea but in reality, it would potentially cause greater danger because teachers would still be untrained. Even if they do have training prior to carrying a weapon, under stress and pressure situations like an attack could potentially cause the training to go out of their head because they get scared and nervous.

I do believe that school shootings are an issue and it has more to do with how people are obtaining guns. But nonetheless, I feel turning the schools into a military station and arming teachers with weapons would not be the best route to take.

This article was written by BKJ, an intern at the San Jose Peace & Justice Center. 

Analysis of School Shootings. (2015, December 31). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://everytownresearch.org/reports/analysis-of-school-shootings/
Emery, D. (2018, February 16). How Many School Shootings Have Taken Place So Far in 2018? Retrieved March 10, 2018, from https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/02/16/how-many-school-shootings-in-2018/

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Protest Trump’s Escalation in Syria

This blog was written by Nikki, an Office Team Intern with the San Jose Peace & Justice Center. The opinions expressed in this post are hers. The photos were taken at the protest by Nikki.

On April 7^th, I attended a nationally coordinated protest locally hosted by Rise Up for Justice (#RU4J) and the Friday Night Peace Vigil. We protested Trump’s escalation in Syria to demand an end to the U.S. war against Syria. This escalation was an immediate action after the chemical attack that killed 89 people on April 4, 2017. Syria blamed terrorist groups for the attack, and Russian President Putin, implied that the forces that have been trying to frame the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad carried out the attack. The attack in Syria prompted the United States to launch its first military strike on the Syrian regime. President Trump ordered the launch of 59 missiles at the airbase that was home to the warplanes that allegedly carried out the chemical attacks.

It has been unclear who was responsible for the chemical attack in Syria. It has been difficult for me to choose where I stand with this issue. It breaks my heart every time I read or see what is happening in Syria. I cannot imagine what they are going through each day and night, never knowing where the next bomb will hit, people have been living in constant stress and fear. I think in some parts of the world, in some situations, it is justified for the U.S. to interfere if human rights laws are being broken and innocent people are being killed. If nobody takes an action and help these innocent people, then who will? However, I also understand that the U.S. shouldn’t be policing the world. I think there should be a line that the U.S. should not cross.

I am unsure whether or not I support this strike. I am happy that the government finally took an action against the Syrian regime. However, I do not support Trump’s sudden response to strike against a regime without actual proof that the chemical attack was done by the Syrian regime. Also, bombing a Syrian air based to send a message to the Assad regime is just not enough. Less than a day after the U.S. strike, new airstrikes targeted the same town. It has been unclear who was responsible for the second attack. At least one woman was killed and three others were injured.

While attending the protest, I saw many people holding signs and standing in front of the MLK library. Although I was unsure about how I felt about this strike, I also felt it was not the right action to take. I knew that the strike would cause people to either be for it, against it, or like me, be unsure. Being at the protest, it made me feel great. I loved the energy and seeing how many people were there to protest against the strike while holding signs and just peacefully protesting. Many people honked their horns as they drove passed us.

 

A Day Without a Woman

This was written by Kevin, a spring 2017 intern at San Jose Peace and Justice Center after attending the Day without a Woman’s Rally at San Jose City Hall on March 8, 2017. The opinions in this post are his.

On March 8, 2017, A Day Without a Women Rally was held in front of San Jose City Hall. A large amount of men and women were in attendance in support of the cause. Many of supporters wore red and held signs to symbolize the “revolutionary love and sacrifice” in regards to the history of the labor movement. Thus, men and women wore red to show their solidarity to the event. The coordinators of the event encouraged the message of “Keeping the Momentum Going!” Therefore, the emphasis of voicing out one’s opinion was emboldened in order for politicians to know our stand on specific policies and actions.

Before attending this event, I never took part in any activist work. However, once I arrived at San Jose City Hall, I felt a sense of unity and support for one another. I never knew what activist work was and how it worked, but after attending this event I realized that being heard and standing up for what you strongly believe in is what really matters. This event was very important because it focused on many areas that are very concerning in today’s society. In fact, our newly elected President, Donald Trump, has voiced his negative opinions about women, immigrants and other controversial matters. Many of his remarks were degrading, outrageous, and unnecessary. Thus, this rally encourages us to stand together and use our voices to be heard.

I learned that reforms and changes in society do not happen quickly. Also, there are many issues that are not addressed and are often set aside by politicians and other higher authorities. However, everyone has a voice and should (and can) express their concerns and opinions because “We the People” have that as a right. Moreover, I’ve also learned that it’s those little changes that motivate us to move forward and keep pushing for what we believe is right.