As much as I do not like the snow, especially as a non-native Hoosier, I have come to see it as a natural part of the ebb and flow of life and both the predictability and unpredictability associated with the changing of the seasons. What is predictable is that I will over-shop for groceries at the smallest hint of a snow flurry, even after living here for more than 15 years. Having grown up in northern California, I was used to mostly mild weather year-round with slight seasonal adjustments, so when my Butler University colleague asked me if I could get used to living in a “gray” community, I simply answered, “Sure,” because I needed a job, not because I really understood what she was talking about. Now I do. It’s not bad; I’m still here, and those other three seasons are fabulous!
And yet, as terrifying as I find snow and its evil sister “ice,” it does force a slow down and reflective period when you look back on the year that just transpired, failures and accomplishments, and then you determine what changes need to be made going forward. Some people make resolutions — I don’t. But because I am an academic, I take the brief time allowed between semesters to both relax and also consider my pedagogical strategies for my next courses, texts, assignments, expectations of myself and my students, and what exactly I hope they learn from me and from one another. Youth have a lot to offer, and if you can tap into those imaginations, it can be very inspiring. My focus is always on the youth since that is my life work, and as I grow older, a significant level of this hope increases, and I want them to see that I am confident in their dreams and invested in their growth. But where I am troubled is that as a community, it is obvious that the youth are not our priorities. So we need a definitive shift.
Stop pretending like cop-on-a-block and warrant sweep strategies are real solutions to real problems. Those efforts, like prayer vigils, are Band-Aid mechanisms meant to assuage the fears of a distressed community and pretend like false measures of security are sustainable. If we are going to put some more money into law enforcement or more generally “public safety,” however it is defined, it should be in police-youth mentorship programs or programs like P.A.L., along with our community centers and parks and recreation centers where they have safe spaces to meet and form real mutually respectful relationships. And stop the discussions of building more jails. If you are trying to establish a peaceful community, implement policies and practices that make sense and don’t waste public money.
Stop constantly shifting our children around, sending them across town and away from their own neighborhood schools then using those same schools as vehicles for neighborhood revitalization. Knowing good and well that parental involvement in schools is key, our children are sent to inconvenient locations where they spend half their lives riding on buses, and then people complain that their parents don’t show up. All children deserve the best resources and community investments right where they live, and if their neighborhood needs a little more investment due to the years of neglect (e.g. street lights, side walks, safe parks, good schools), then let’s make this a priority. We don’t need anymore fancy condos downtown — they don’t help, they’re expensive and ugly.
Lastly, how about we hear more about the young people who are working hard and achieving great things and supporting and encouraging their peers to do the same, rather than simply looking at them as homicide statistics? We can do more to prevent those statistics, and it just takes a shift in our priorities and our attitude toward our young people. We need them.
Dr. Terri Jett is an associate professor of political science and special assistant to the provost for diversity and inclusivity at Butler University. Comments can be sent to tjett@butler.edu.
