a Physical Violence and Physical Abuse

Stories about physical violence and abuse were plentiful in both semesters.

Students/researchers shared the experiences of community members and detailed bloody fights that were motivated by difference: racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, gender, dress, appearance, ability, sexuality, etc.

One of Emma’s interviewee’s attended an urban high school. Emma reported:

She liked high school and misses it. Everyone was nice and treated equally. She wish she could have gone to a different high school because she would have been able to get into a different college, but not because she could keep up with the work. School was very

33

mixed so not a lot of racism. Two kids got into a fight, one pulled out a knife and killed the other one. It left a big impression on everyone because they were both really quiet and no one expected it. Everyone was scared, and everyone was curious as to what would happen to this kid. (Fall 2011, Emma)

Emma and her interviewee viewed school diversity as a positive attribute and thought racism was curbed as a result. Nonetheless, students in this urban school had to make sense of the horrors of student homicide at the hands of another student.

The groups that investigated bullying also noted the occurrence of violence begets violence. Shani explained:

That's why (bullying is) really a cycle, and it's a bad cycle. Because you probably was bullied, but here it is, you took it in, and you didn't feel like it was going to be a little problem, but later down that line, you start bullying the next one. You keep it all inside of you, and you're bullying the next one. And you're going to get one over on this one because he's younger than you, or he looks like a wimp, or he just don't do right. That's just bullying right there. (Spring 2012, Shani)

The group identified the spider web effect of the spreading violence, too. During their bullying presentation, Mateo shared the effects of bullying in the community. These included: “parents feel they start to lose connection with their child. There could be an increase in violence throughout the community. High schoolers’ dropout rate will increase. Decrease in test scores and a lack of work ethic” (Spring 2012, Mateo).

Students/co-researchers thought that cruelty, bullying, and violence experienced in schools had gotten worse than previous years. Researchers have concluded that violence and bullying is a more prevalent problem in schools and the workplace (Fox & Stallworth, 2005;

34

Gomez et al., 2014; Sticca & Perren, 2013; Weber, 2015); however, statistics illustrate that rates of school violence in the U.S. are declining, apart from cities like Detroit, San Francisco and Cleveland (Neuman, 2012).

Students/co-researchers questioned their sense of safety in Central New Jersey’s urban areas. A prominent local news story reported on September 16, 2011 that “Today, 108 Trenton police officers will lose their jobs. The biggest blow to the department in its history has residents wondering how safe their streets will be tomorrow” (Zdan, 2011). Students/co-researchers voiced concerns that the state seemed to be pulling safety services and support from not only the communities in and surrounding New Jersey’s Capitol but also from vulnerable families in underserved neighborhoods in other urban areas of the state. Community members insisted that they experienced an immediate crime spike when local police officer presence disappeared. Perhaps they are unfazed, and sadly validated, by the August 29, 2013 local news article

announcing “Trenton becomes 'numb' to near-constant violence; new murder record set in capital city” (Zdan & Pizzi, 2013). Adding insult to injury, Governor Chris Christie has praised

Camden, New Jersey, for reduced rates of violent crimes, which he credits to replacing local police officers with regional officers. Some view this move as a union-busting tactic.

Alternatively, “Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson cautioned against discounting the effect more officers can have on crime in a city. He said that Camden currently has more officers patrolling its streets than at any point in its history” (Laday, 2014). Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson’s message echoes the pleas of underserved urban areas like Trenton. In response to Chris Christie’s recommendation that Trenton replace city police officers with regional officers:

35

Trenton Mayor Tony Mack's office issued the following statement, calling for state aid to hire more officers immediately: Our administration is open to hearing ideas on how we can reduce crime in the City of Trenton. Nevertheless, it is important to point out that the regional police force was proposed for Camden City in early 2011 while new hires only just started this year. We have a very real issue with telling our residents to wait two years for basic quality of life that other communities enjoy all day every day. Trentonians need relief now and we stand by our earlier proposal, whereby the State increases our funding so we may hire an additional 75 police officers. (Portnoy, 2013) Local community members believed that violence was getting worse in their

communities and in their schools. They worried that families, organizations, and local businesses would flee their neighborhoods, and criminal activity would run rampant. Without adequate state aid and support, they did not think a reprieve from the violence was possible.