By Sara Perez
In 2013 the F.B.I. gave Chicago the title “Murder Capital of the U.S.” The dangers of living in the Windy City vary depending on the neighborhood, but Lane students have had a wide range of experiences.
With shootings, fights, and kidnappings happening throughout the city, it is important to stay alert in Chicago. Lane students come from all over the city to attend school, but in some of these areas they have feared for their lives.
Starr Briscoe, Div. 557, says she does not feel safe where she lives in Bronzeville/Hyde Park due to constant gang violence.
“My mom even bought me mace and a taser gun,” Briscoe said.
Even though Briscoe lives in the south side, she feels that the danger is still there when she is on the north side.
One day after work, Briscoe and her friends went to the McDonald’s at Sheridan and Wilson, in Uptown. Then one of Briscoe’s friends started arguing with a twelve year old boy over personal gang-related issues. Eventually the gang member told Briscoe and her friends to “get off their territory.”
The boy then called some of his friends to come fight Briscoe’s group because they would not leave. Briscoe became nervous, wondering if any of his friends would show up with a gun.
Before they arrived, the twelve year old already started fighting with Briscoe’s boyfriend. Briscoe’s group still outnumbered the gang members when they arrived, but Briscoe and her girlfriends pepper sprayed them to stop the fighting. While they were distracted with getting the spray out of their eyes, Briscoe and her friends grabbed her boyfriend and left the scene.
Nothing happened between these two groups afterwards, but Briscoe’s friend called the police anyway. They explained what happened to them, but the police did not do anything to help.
Being involved in a fight is not the only way students have been affected by violence.
While fixing his car, Edson Trujillo, Div. 554, heard a gunshot go off right behind him and immediately ducked inside his car to take cover. This kind of activity is not unusual in his neighborhood in Humboldt Park. Later, the police questioned him about the incident, but he did not know exactly what happened.
“There’s a difference between hearing a gunshot and being by the shooting,” Trujillo said.
Trujillo does not feel safe in Humboldt Park; he does not bother to hang around his neighborhood because of the shootings and fights.
“Let the cops deal with it,” Trujillo said.
He prefers not to get involved, but does agree that authorities need to fix Chicago.
Nia Robinson, Div. 584, lives in Galewood Park. She often hears gunshots coming from just a few blocks east of her neighborhood. She loves Chicago and feels safe most of the time, but feels particularly susceptible as a 16-year-old girl. Still she loves her city.
“Although [it is] one of the most segregated cities… [Chicago] has a lot to offer,” Robinson said.
Robinson is part of a community forum called “Teens at the Table,” where community members are invited to come discuss violence in Chicago, trying to understand where it comes from and how it can be dealt with. Forum members know they can not eliminate violence completely, but are trying to bring more awareness to the issue.
They discuss the transition from violence in childhood to adulthood. It is not because a bad childhood defines who you will be in the future, but what one is taught at an early age which can affect their actions because those are the values they were raised by.
“[We] talk about how it starts in the mindset,” Robinson said. “There are people who believe that violence can fight your problems, and it can all be changed… It’s one of those things where you can’t say ‘that’s bad. Don’t do that’ and everything goes away.”
According to Dominique Perry, Div. 561, threats are not taken seriously in her neighborhood. Perry lives in Forest Preserve and feels safe there. She only feels uncomfortable when she is away from her neighborhood.
“The worst thing I’ve ever seen was this guy claiming he was a marine and he was threatening to shoot everyone on the bus… then he looked at me and five other girls and said… he’ll kill us because he knows how to…” Perry said.
The bus driver did not do anything and neither did anyone else. They all ignored him and the man then just walked off the bus.
As a school with students from all over the city, Lane has a student body full of people with personal experiences of the violence in Chicago. These instances vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, but the danger for many is often too close for comfort.
