Beware of Your Shadow: On Student Safety
“It’s natural for people to feel fear when experiencing something scary, but it should never be the case that one constantly thinks that today could be their last day.”
Have you ever found yourself looking over your shoulder, afraid someone might be following you? From a stranger shadowing your every step, to a car slowing down to match your pace while you walk, an unsettling feeling of fear can slowly start to creep in as you move through the world.
We are constantly flooded with multiple emotions throughout the day, from joy and excitement to fear and anxiety. But the uneasy feeling of being watched or followed is something many of us are all too familiar with, especially when we’re alone on the street.
This article will focus on the different fears surrounding our local community and how these concerns can vary by gender. By discussing how these concerns affect us in our everyday life, we hope to spread awareness to anybody in need that they are not alone and have every right to feel this way.
In today’s world, walking through the streets isn’t as carefree an experience as it should be.
It’s natural for people to feel fear when experiencing something scary, but it should never be the case that one constantly thinks that today could be their last day.
We chose to interview people from all grade levels, as well as a few teachers, in order to capture a range of perspectives. This also helps us further understand whether gender roles continue to influence perception of street safety, even at an older age.
On a regular day, Comp Sci High lets their kids out at 4:10, so in our interview, we asked students what time they usually arrive home. The average time that students said they got home was 5:25. However, students who are involved in athletics or who tend to stay after school with friends or for work, reported getting home at a later time, typically around 8 and the latest being 9.
“5:20 and it’s pretty dark at that time, so I get a little paranoid” said Monica, a current 12th grader.
Comp Sci High students of all grades are expected to arrive at school at 8:45. That's like a 9-5 job.
“I can’t stand the night. You can’t really see people’s faces, so I get very paranoid. ” said Kenny, a sophomore.
The word that would come up frequently is “paranoid;” it's safe to say we’ve heard that word at least once during each interview.
“I get home around 6, because I take my girlfriend home,” said John, a current 12th grader.
When asked why he feels the need to take her home he said, “It’s because she gets hit on by guys on the train, so I try to get her home before anything. It's more dangerous for a girl to be outside than a guy. ”
In most of our answers for whether Comp Sci High students feel safer during the day or during the night, about 80 percent of students stated that they feel safer during the day.
“In the morning, yeah there's light but then again you never know what’s gonna happen, especially when you’re alone.” said Yuli, a current 12th grader
A current 10th grader mentioned “At night, you are more vulnerable, especially when you’re alone…I feel like things are gonna happen in the dark.”
Fear can control us in ways we don’t even notice like switching streets if there’s no light on that street or picking up your pace when there’s a person trailing behind you.
We asked students what advice they get from their parents when it comes to traveling to and from school?
Many students often repeated that their parents gave them advice about wearing headphones like “don’t listen to loud music when walking”, “leave one headphone out while you’re walking” and some parents would say “don’t wear headphones at all.”
Parents would also mention things like “Don’t stand too close to the tracks” or “keep your head up” and “go straight home after school.” Ricardo, a current 9th grader, stated that his parents advised him to “Look both ways when crossing the street.”
We realized that was the first time a student had mentioned receiving advice from their parents like that. Nowadays, parents are more often worried about their children facing the front of a gun rather than the more common, yet serious dangers like getting hit by a car.
Almost all the students we asked had feelings of someone following them at night, and some actually had very scary experiences of being followed at night
Fatou, a current junior, shared two very disturbing experiences of being followed. In the first experience, there were six boys who kept calling for her in a parking lot near her home she was walking past. By luck, her dad was home early that day and was able to defend her. The second experience she shared was while she was walking with her sister, two guys followed her and her sister for fifteen minutes straight, Fatou made a smart but quick decision to change her and sisters path, and thankfully the men left.
Miriam, a current senior, shared another disturbing experiences of being followed at night, she shared with us that she was being followed by two grown men at night, they would follow her every move, when she stopped they stopped and when she started to walk again they started to walk again so she made a smart but quick decision and faked like she was getting on the bus to try and get rid of them and thankfully it worked and men walked away.
Ms. Pham, a software engineering teacher and advisor for Comp Sci High, shared with us that, one evening when she was alone, she was followed home.
Mr. Castro, another software engineering teacher, and advisor at Comp Sci High, had told us about his experience last year, he was outside at 2 a.m walking his dog, sorta distracted. His dog started to freak out and that was when he noticed a shadowy figure trailing behind him. He told the figure off and the figure ran away.
Students were brave enough to speak out on other experiences that have happened to them to and from school, Many girls had experienced being hit on by men, unlike boys who had been robbed or an attempt was made on them. Both experiences were no doubt very traumatic for the students.
Malik, an 11th grader, had shared his experience from November of last year, where a group of men attempted to rob him at night, but drove away afterwards.
“You got that? You got something on you?” is what they yelled at him as they drove to a stop right next to them.
Omar, a 10th grader, told us he was robbed last year.
Sophia, a 12th grader, shared with us that a 60 year old man approached her and asked for her number even though she stated to him she was a minor loud and clear, then he said “I don’t care. Age is only a number.”
Danielle, a 12th grader expressed to us two different experiences when she was stared down by multiple grown men. She was walking by a deli and two grown men were eyeing her down. Her male friend who was with her at the time had told her afterwards: “Yo pay attention, if you are alone…they were looking at you hella hard.” The other experience she shared with us was when, at 10pm, she was walking with a friend who was a girl, and some men were looking at them, eying them down.
“It was so scary.” she stated.
“Since the sun has been setting earlier, there's a lot of pervertidos.” said Naomi, a current freshman.
Miriam, a current 12th grader, had also shared a few wild encounters she has had. Once when she was walking to school, a middle-age man yelled out “It bounces.” Unfortunately that was not the only time she was cat-called, as later that week as she was walking to the post-office, another man shouted “I know you eat a lot of ….” The rest is disturbing to say.
We wanted to know if people felt safer when they were with a female or male friend or by themselves. And, if so, why?
Most girls mentioned they felt safer with a guy friend, but when it came to the boys, most said it didn’t matter who they are with, of course the responses varied, few boys felt safer walking with other guys and few girls said it didn’t matter to them. We often heard things like,
“Boys are stronger than girls”
“I feel safer with a guy.”
But when interviewing Yuli and Toure, both seniors. Toure said “Not to be cocky, but I'm safer by myself.”
Although we hadn’t expected that reaction, we asked him to elaborate, “because if a situation were to happen with me and another person, whether it’s a boy or girl, I would have to think twice before I react.”
People have the tendency to protect others, when it comes to a dire situation. The fight or flight instinct kicks in, making the person affect not only themself but the person they're with.
We wanted to know if students had a sibling and, if so, if it was a girl or boy. If so, were they younger or older than you? And the follow up question was: Did you notice a difference in how your parents treated you vs. your brother/sister?
Many students said that their parents treated all their siblings equally but some had some very surprising things to say, including an adult we interviewed.
Mr. Castro, a computer science teacher, reminisced about his past, and how even though he was younger than his sister, his parents made him pick her up from outside when it was late at night. This comes to show that gender roles still come into play no matter the age.
Danielle, a 12th grader, mentioned that when her older brother was her age he got more permission. As far as going outside went, he would be outside until 12pm.
“Guys have more freedom than girls”, said Fatou, a 11th grader.
Fatou shared with us that when her older brother was given the opportunity to go to London, her mother automatically said yes. The following year, she asked if she could go to Puerto Rico for a week, her mom said no without hesitating, stating “ it’s too dangerous”. It took her about a month to convince her mom.
We also wanted to know, if students ever had thought about purchasing a defense kit?
For this question the answers were very mixed, many said no, and some said yes they have, but it would be a hassle to carry.
John, a current senior, stated that he used to carry brass knuckles in middle school as a way of protecting himself.
Monica , a current senior, expressed the feeling that she was scared she would get in trouble if it was found in her possession.
One person stated how their dad would give drill to them and their siblings to teach them combat skills, their dad taught them things like putting together a gun, and shooting (the gun was obviously legally purchased and owned ).
But we heard an interesting answer which was out of the norm.
Yuli, a current senior, stated “it doesn't matter if you are carrying a weapon, if you panic, the weapon is pretty much useless at that point”.
We strongly believe most high school students do not feel safe when they go outside, whether they’re doing something as simple as going to school or heading home afterwards. Feeling safe in our everyday surroundings should be a basic right, not a privilege that only few can achieve.
Being a teen in “a city that never sleeps” means constantly being aware of your surroundings. As most parents say, you have to have eyes in the back of your head. Anything can happen at any moment. While safety should always be a priority, it's always okay to have fun, as long as you’re in a safe environment.
Let us do our best to make sure we keep ourselves and the people around us safe by staying alert!
Make sure you send your location to a close friend or family member!