NCJ Number
193857
Date Published
2001
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This paper reports the opinions of almost 300 junior and senior high school students who participated in a forum on the effects of school violence and ways to eliminate it.
Abstract
The Law Day Program held at New Jersey City University provided a forum for Jersey City and Bayonne, New Jersey junior and senior high school students attending public, charter, and private schools to discuss aggressive behavior and what could be done to prevent school violence. The forum began with a skit by New Jersey City University’s “Peers Educating Peers,” a group of undergraduate and graduate students. They performed a skit in which a bully harassed a fellow classmate to the point where the victim decided to return to school to shoot the bully. After the skit the moderator asked the junior and senior high school students to give their opinions concerning the definition of violence, the dynamics between the bully and the victim, and the appropriate way to resolve the situation. Following the skit, a panel of distinguished professionals gave students an account of how today’s society addresses violence. The juvenile and criminal justice systems determine legal culpability rather than parents, schools, or communities. The panelists then broke into groups to brainstorm ways of resolving youth aggression and school violence. The students identified 25 causes of school violence. In addition, they offered 227 ways to minimize and/or eliminate school violence. These recommendations were directed towards students, teachers, counselors, school administrators, parents, and the community. By asking students to think about and resolve youth aggression and violence, it was hoped students would understand their role in averting school violence. The students’ participation indicated a sense of empowerment and demonstrated their ability to take responsibility for their actions.