KC and Jamil are joined by three student activists who helped raise awareness towards gun violence in the New Haven area. How can it be prevented? And how can more people go out there and make a difference?
Transcript
Well, welcome back. KC, I cannot believe we are in January of the
Speaker:new year. It is hard to believe. It is, it is.
Speaker:Oh, yes, no. Everyone, KC's just nervous, it's the new year... Oh, come
Speaker:on. We're in January, folks. Okay, we're pretending, we're recording in
Speaker:December. Before Christmas. We're tired. We were just trying to like, summon
Speaker:the New Year's vibes, the well rested, ready to start the new year,
Speaker:'Cause that's when ya'll are listening to this episode. You're listening
Speaker:to this episode in 2022, and we are coming to you from
Speaker:2021. I'm hoping the new year will go better than this previous year.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah, a lot of big things happened in 2021.
Speaker:And, you know, in higher education in K 12 education, it has been
Speaker:a really brutal year, and particularly a brutal semester for folks.
Speaker:So yeah, really hoping for 2022 to, to lighten up a little
Speaker:on that, that load. And so we, you know, we just had a
Speaker:really fun conversation with some of my students. Yes.
Speaker:From the communication department, our department. Our department. Yes,
Speaker:the capstone class talking about gun violence. Every 10 minutes in America,
Speaker:one person dies of gun violence. So it's a serious topic and it
Speaker:impacts many people, it impacts us here in Connecticut, and we had a
Speaker:conversation talking about their experience planning your program around
Speaker:raising awareness. Yeah, they, you know, I'm so proud of this group of
Speaker:students, it was just five students who put on this huge event,
Speaker:connecting the community and folks who are, you know, taking action around
Speaker:youth gun violence, which is a really big problem in New Haven.
Speaker:And connecting them with a campus community, helping us to really realize
Speaker:our social justice mission, to get people involved.
Speaker:Because a lot of times, even though we are of the community,
Speaker:at this school, I think a lot of times people, they come here,
Speaker:and then you know, teach their classes or go to their classes,
Speaker:and then they leave, and they go home, even if they're still staying
Speaker:in Connecticut, I think sometimes we're... We're not really serving the
Speaker:community where we're located. That's a theme throughout our state. And
Speaker:I can think of many ways in which
Speaker:folks work in one area and live in others and what does that
Speaker:mean for community belonging, but that's a different rant. But kudos to
Speaker:you for assigning such a project to your students. Thank you. And I
Speaker:hope this inspire faculty from our university and other universities to
Speaker:think about critical ways that their students can solve social problems,
Speaker:social change, connect with the community, you know, find something they're
Speaker:passionate about, and use the skill that they're learning in the classroom
Speaker:to do something powerful with it. Right, yeah. I mean, we do really
Speaker:have a unique opportunity as educators that and people in higher ed,
Speaker:like, How do we, How do we give back? How do we
Speaker:create spaces for community events? Community organizing? How do we contribute
Speaker:to our communities? We have a lot to offer, whether that's research,
Speaker:whether that's, you know, students who might participate in a mentoring
Speaker:program, in the community, all kinds of the ways that we can
Speaker:engage and give back. And, as opposed to just sitting in the classroom
Speaker:and just, you know, assigning... I think about like, you're in class,
Speaker:right? You're a student, you write a paper, Professor reads it. Boom, that's
Speaker:it. You get a grade. And then what, I mean, I can't like back
Speaker:when, like, students were turning in paper... Papers. You know, what do
Speaker:you see, like at the... When you get papers back? You see all
Speaker:of them in the trash can. Not all of them.
Speaker:I kept all of my papers, I will add. Of course you did.
Speaker:I do did. And they're categorized by class. Oh, my gosh,
Speaker:in your filing cabinet? They are, they are in a filing cabinet. Yeah. Like
Speaker:the point is like, how can, and of course scholarship is important.
Speaker:It's important to do things like writing is a way of understanding something
Speaker:deeply. It's a big way that we learn. So I'm not saying that
Speaker:that's not important. But I'm saying in addition to that,
Speaker:how can we empower our students to be activists? Yes,
Speaker:'cause it took many skills for your students to accomplish this event and
Speaker:trust you all will hear more about this event in a little bit,
Speaker:but skills like public speaking, organizing, contacting community members,
Speaker:marketing, putting the word out, talking and facilitating with each other
Speaker:around decisions they should make. Right. Deadlines. Yeah, so you'll get
Speaker:a little sort of peek behind the curtain with three out of the
Speaker:five students who put this event on hoping to inspire both students,
Speaker:faculty folks listening, that you know, you can,
Speaker:there's opportunity there to create meaningful change, where perhaps you
Speaker:didn't see a possibility before. So today, KC, we are talking with your
Speaker:capstone class. We are talking with some of my students today.
Speaker:Yes. How exciting, how exciting. And they did a project on gun violence.
Speaker:Yes. So in the capstone class, so this is seniors in communication,
Speaker:some of whom have studied, like you did, Interpersonal Professional Communication,
Speaker:some who are digital, like filmmakers, digital production, and then others
Speaker:who do advertising and promotion. So we have all of these like amazing
Speaker:skill sets. We bring the class together at the end,
Speaker:and students come up with a social justice project, you know, like they
Speaker:look for a problem where, you know, social justice problem where communication
Speaker:can have an impact, and whether they can take the skills that they've learned
Speaker:and really create a project that contributes to their community. Yes, mine
Speaker:was food security. And yours, I was thinking about this yours was really,
Speaker:I mean, it got interrupted by the pandemic. It was Spring 2020.
Speaker:Yes. And we all pulled it together. But it was...
Speaker:I think we gave you all a great report on food insecurity. Yeah. Yeah, but
Speaker:really it's too bad that that did get interrupted. Well, that's okay.
Speaker:I'm glad... Theirs did not... Because I heard they had a very successful
Speaker:program. Yes, one of the... Actually, one of the biggest events
Speaker:on campus, all semester... I think the second biggest event
Speaker:of the semester on campus. Well, congratulations to all of you. So today
Speaker:we have... So actually, my class was split into two.
Speaker:Two different projects. One group worked on mental health. And this group
Speaker:worked on preventing youth gun violence. So we have three of the five
Speaker:group members here with us today. We have Shay Smith, Nik'Kiyah Brown, and
Speaker:Kayla White. Welcome to the three of you. Thanks for being here. Thank
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:28
Yeah, thank you for having
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:32
us. Yeah, great to have you all here. Okay, so
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:36
I wanna start with you, Shay. So you're... At the beginning of the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:40
semester, everyone comes up with an idea, they pitch their idea to the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:43
class, and then we sort of hash it out from there.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:46
So your idea... Your original idea was a different one, and it's the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:51
one that sparked this particular project. So can you tell us about...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:07:55
What was the genesis of this project? So the original idea was to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:01
pair with Valley Street Community Center, kind of get in there, see leaders,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:09
work with the kids, work with the youth. I wasn't aware that it
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:13
was opening back up, so when I saw a post on Instagram saying
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:17
that they needed help, I thought, "This is a great opportunity for my
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:22
classmates or for Southern to get involved with New Haven." So that was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:27
the original thought, was to pair up with the Valley Street Community Center.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:32
Yes, and so the Valley Street Community Center is very close to our
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:36
campus, and Shay you are from New Haven. Nik'Kiyah you're from New Haven.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:42
The two of you are from this area, and both of you have
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:46
been directly impacted by youth gun violence. Would you talk about how that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:52
led you to create this project? I lost my close friend to gun violence,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:08:59
recently, and that was kind of the first interaction that I really had
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:06
that really hit home for me. So when that happened, I immediately thought,
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like, "This is a big problem." And it just... It continued. So I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:17
really wanted us to try to tackle this issue... The youth is a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:24
big part of New Haven, and these innocent kids are dying. So I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:30
felt like a great way to try to tackle the issue is was to first, raise
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:36
awareness. Because a lot of people don't know what really goes on in
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:41
New Haven, and how much it really affects the youth. So raising awareness
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:45
was my first thought, automatically. And I felt like using the senior capstone
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:52
course was a great opportunity to do this.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:09:57
Yeah, and Nik'Kiyah, you've had some experience working directly with youth
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:01
as a mentor, and you've seen how that can make a difference,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:04
right? Oh yes, I worked for... I worked at least for two years...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:10
It's a non profit organization that works closely with the youth in high
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:15
poverty neighborhoods, around the city of New Haven. So during my time as
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a counselor it's like, I would see how
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:21
the outside life impacts the children. Not only how they react,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:25
but their mental state in school. And then it's like they have to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:30
return back to it. And it plays a big role in their life,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:33
because they're just kids so... They've been introduced to a lot of things
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:37
that they don't even understand, but they have to get accustomed to it
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:40
and they have to know that it's a part of their life now,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:43
and I feel like it's sad. And then having to deal with it
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:46
personally I feel like if I can help prevent it
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:50
I would and I wouldn't hesitate and I would do it anytime. Yeah,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:53
and Kayla, what was it that had you... You were one of the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:56
first to join the project. There were actually some people who came,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:10:59
some people who went during moments of trouble, we'll get into the sort
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:02
of behind the scenes... The difficulties in planning a large project.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:07
But there were people who came and went. Kayla, you were there from
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:10
the start. So what brought you to the project?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:14
Honestly, what brought me to the project was that I had recently
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:18
just had gone through my own experience with gun violence. My...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:24
Last April, my ex boyfriend was actually shot with nine times in Stanford.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:30
It was all over the news. He was murdered. And like Shay said,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:37
I've been around gun violence, but like this is where it really hit home
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:42
for me. And I'm still healing from it. It's hard.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:47
And it's just... I was one of the first people to raise my hand in
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:50
class to join because I just wanted to make a difference.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:53
And I wanted to bring awareness to it, because I felt like I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:11:56
couldn't really do anything else to prevent what happened. So I thought,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:02
this would be a better way to kind of honor his life, and make a difference.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:09
To make sure that this doesn't happen. It's not like... It doesn't happen
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:14
again, basically. I don't want it to happening happen again at all.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:18
So that was my reason in joining. Yeah, and I... I'm so glad
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:22
that you are all here having this conversation with us today,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:26
because it's such a big and complex problem. It impacts so many people,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:31
and there is not a single or easy solution...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:36
So what ended up happening... Let's just... Let's just... Let me pause on
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:39
this and say... Initially y'all were thinking like... Okay, this community
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:43
center is opening back up. We're gonna go. We'll hang out with the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:46
kids. And we're gonna play some games. Michael Tompkins, he was really excited
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:50
to play some tabletop games with some kids and video games.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:54
I'm getting flashbacks to Lighthouse. I used to volunteer for the Lighthouse
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:12:58
program like that. Right. And so that's what really we thought we would...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:03
Hopefully develop partnerships with these... The community center to get
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:08
our college students mentoring youth... Our youth. Yeah. The youth in the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:11
community. So then it turns out... Hey that... The center's not opening
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:16
until 2022. So, heart stop. What happened Shay? I don't know if you
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:22
remember this far back. This was probably September, a few months ago.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:26
What happened once we figured that out? How did we sort of pivot
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:28
the project? So once we heard that, it was kind of like,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:34
"Oh God, what are we gonna do now?" The team was kind of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:38
like, "Well, now we have to pivot and go a different route,"
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:43
so we started brainstorming in class, we started
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:47
doing a lot of research into this topic, seeing where else we could
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:51
help and sit in and raise awareness. And actually,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:56
one of my other group members, Michael, he came up with this great
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:13:59
idea of having an event, and from there we just took it and ran with
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:06
it. Meanwhile I was like, I don't know if you wanna have an
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:09
event. The stakes are high when you host an event, first of all,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:16
second of all... There where definitely some like moments with the event
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:20
where I feel like we kind of were like all leading weeding off, but
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:24
honestly, Jamil honestly really helped us to be like, okay, set on an
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:29
event. 'Cause But he told us what we had to do,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:31
who to contact, and then when we also got in contact with,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:41
this is what we're doing, this is how we're gonna do a our project.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:46
Yeah so there were a couple of moments, and we're gonna talk about
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:50
phoning a friend, I don't know where ever that comes from,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:52
the game show where you phone a friend and they help you answer
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:55
the question. Anyway that's... Yes, yes. 'Who wants to be a millionaire?'
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:14:58
Yeah that one, we're... None of us are millionaires, but Jamil, you were
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:04
a key part of this project because a lot of... For a little
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:07
while, I was really trying to steer you all away from doing an
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:11
event to think like, "Okay, maybe we can could do a documentary,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:13
maybe we can do something else, but is an event the thing,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:17
is that the thing that's gonna make the biggest difference?" And I was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:20
not sure about that. And can five people pull off this big thing?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:25
Absolutely. Right. So, we're in class one day and I honestly,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:31
I had no idea what advice to offer you all we were at
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:34
a dead end, and I texted Jamil real quick. Hey are you around...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:39
Always happy to help. "Can we call you?" And we FaceTimed him. And
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:43
then so, what happened in that conversation, like you're just... What were
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:47
you even doing when we called you, you had no... I think I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:49
was taking a nap. I'm not gonna lie to you, I think I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:51
was taking a nap, but it was a good reason to disturb a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:15:55
nap, I think so myself. But yeah I was excited to hear what
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the students had in mind in terms of for our their an event.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:02
I have lots of experience with events on campus, as you know,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:06
creating large events, small events for different organizations on campus.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:11
So it's really about figuring out where they were, to get them to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:14
where we needed them to be, in order to pull off such a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:17
large event because honestly, it's a few simple skills, like
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:21
booking the room, who are you going to invite, how many speakers,
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who's going to be in charge of what. And so I don't think
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:28
my contribution was huge, it was just helping you all get organized in
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terms of what needed to happen next. And also the confidence piece.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:38
Nik'Kiyah, I remember your attitude, walking out of the classroom that day,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:46
you were like, "Wow", you were like a new person.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:51
Yeah, I don't know, I know we were stressing a lot because our
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:55
grade was on the line, but it wasn't only our grade, it's like... It
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:16:59
was something we had been passionate about, and we already set our hopes
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:17:03
high... So we felt like we have had to settle for less just
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:17:07
to get a grade, and then to hear that, get some the motivation,
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take some notes, finally get some structure or some sort of idea of
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what we wanted to do. It made a big difference, 'cause we knew
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we were was heading in the right direction, we knew it was something
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:17:24
we were capable of doing, and I think
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:17:26
that's what was holding us back, we didn't think we were capable of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:17:29
doing it, we were selling ourselves short. And Kayla, talk to us about...
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So the initial idea was, "Hey, let's mentor some youth," we know that
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makes a difference in preventing youth gun violence, and especially around
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age 14, 15, 13, but the event ended up being a little different. So Kayla,
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would you talk to us about what the event
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ended up being? And then we're gonna actually hear some clips from the
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event. Honestly, the event really, how big the turnout was really shocked
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:10
me 'cause we... From the get go we wanted this to feel be very
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:17
impactful. Because of the fact that we were all very passionate about it.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:21
So, we ended up having so many speakers come, thanks to Michael reaching
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:27
out to a lot of people with... A lot of people turned out
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:30
and there were some doubts with... Not with the speakers, but with students
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:39
coming, we were very worried that, there's there was gonna be a lot
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:43
of speakers and not a lot of audience members to listen to what
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:49
we wanted to say and what they wanted to say.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:52
But it ended up like for example, I reached out to President Joe
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:55
to come speak and he didn't really know if he's gonna come, and out of now
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:18:58
where he just popped in at the event and we were all like do you wanna speak?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:04
Say something if you want? I think we all were just very very
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:10
shocked at the turnout, 'cause we were not... We were expecting a small
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:15
event. But KC said we had the second biggest event on campus,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:19
I was shocked, I was not expecting that big of a turnout and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:25
it exceeded our expectations. And so Shay, what was the goal of the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:30
event? Who was speaking? Who was the audience? What was the purpose,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:35
the intention? So of course, it was to raise awareness. It was also
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:41
to connect the SCSU community with New Haven,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:46
Southern makes up a huge part of New Haven, so just making that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:51
connection was really our main goal, we we've had organizations come speak,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:19:56
we we've had mothers, parents of victims who lost their lives to gun violence,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:03
so it was really about just here is who is available in New Haven where
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:10
who you can go to. And this is also what happened
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:15
to these victims. So It was a mixture of raising awareness and also
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:19
it was kind of like an emotional touch side to the event as
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:23
well. So yeah. Yeah, I think college students,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:31
there's a lot of... Have y'all heard the term slacktivism? Where you're
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:35
like, Oh, if you like this, or you reshare this and then you're
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:38
like, "Okay, I did my activism today." I think that there are a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:43
lot of students, a lot of people in general want to make a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:46
difference, who want to get engaged with the community and they don't necessarily
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:49
know how to do it. Yeah, I think college students have access and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:20:54
resources during this period of their life that they necessarily won't necessarily
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:00
have in others. When you go to a university, you're connected with hundreds
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:05
or if not thousands of students around your similar age, having similar
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:09
interest, tends to be around other faculty that can help shape and provide
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:14
further resources, you can tap into the resources of your administration,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:19
to help further social causes, like we have been doing for the last
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:23
couple of decades. Yeah. And there are also a number of different programs
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:30
on campus, from communication to sociology to folks training to be mental
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:36
health counselors, social workers. Social workers. And there are placements
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:40
and internships and all sorts of opportunities to connect, to better connect
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:48
our campus to the community that we live in. And you're right, Shay, I mean,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:53
there are folks who listen to this podcast from other universities,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:21:57
from other places not affiliated with the universities.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:01
But one thing I'll say about our school is that... And it's true,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:05
a lot of states have schools that are similar to ours in some
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:08
way or another, where 96%, 97% of our students come from Connecticut.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:14
And most people stay in Connecticut. Yes. So we really serve this community,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:18
it's very different than a place like Yale, where people come from outside,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:22
they come from around the world, to go to school there.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:25
And then they leave, some people stay, obviously. But
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:29
that's a very different model for a school. So I think that we
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:33
have... I mean, any university has a responsibility to the community they
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:41
reside in and the people who work there, and the people who they
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:43
serve as an institution of higher education, but I think that we have
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:49
a particularly strong relationship with our community. But also, there's
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:54
some pretty big gaps that I think especially as a so called social
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:22:58
justice University, we can do better. And I think that all three of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:03
you, all five of you really saw that, that gap and wanted to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:07
help fill it. So how did you all feel? Because I'm curious.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:11
It's not every day in a college classroom, that you get assigned to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:15
do a project around activism, around social change. Did you enjoy this as
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:20
being a part of your formal education as an assignment? So I did,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:26
I enjoyed it a lot. I'm a senior. So I've had many classes,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:32
many communication classes. But this class actually made me get out and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:38
do something that I was passionate about, that I found
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:42
very close to home. So when he assigned this, I was like,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:46
"Yes, this is my opportunity to do something that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:51
I really care about." So when I saw the Valley Street community center
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:23:58
or all this stuff, I was like, "This is a great opportunity."
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:02
Unfortunately it didn't work out. But the event still allowed me to broadcast
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:07
my interest in what I was passionate about. So
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:10
at the end, it was kind of like...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:14
This was amazing... And I personally have never had KC Before. I was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:19
actually scared to take his class because I thought he was...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:22
Stop. Yes. Why? So what when wait a minute. I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:26
thought... I don't know... I thought KC was mean just... I don't know. What?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:29
I'm so used to having three professors in communication. So when I took
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:33
KC I was like, "I don't know what to expect in this class,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:36
it's a capstone class, I'm gonna write a paper."
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:39
My mind was all over the place. But when he assigned this assignment,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:43
I was like, "Wow, this is something that I could do."
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:46
KC is a great professor. I mean I had him before and this was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:24:55
the beginning stages of my communication degree. It was a fun class.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:01
And I haven't had him for a while. But when I seen him for
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:04
Comm 450, I knew it was gonna be a great class.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:07
He always challenges his students to do something different. And I feel
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:13
like that's why I enjoyed this his class a lot because it challenged me
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:16
to do something different. Come out of my comfort zone. I know if
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:20
it wasn't for this class I would never have probably hosted an event on
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:23
campus. It's just something I'm not I used to... You know I like
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:28
to speak on things I'm interested in but as far as like hosting an event,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:31
I knew I couldn't do that. But like with KC's urge to challenge us, it definitely
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:36
gave me that push that I needed to do something different.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:39
And it had a great outcome. I enjoyed every part of it and in
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:42
the class itself it made me interested in the class and want to come
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:45
to the class and want to engage in the class.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:49
Well, let's... At this point, I wanna play
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:25:53
for our listeners some audio from the event. So Shay and Nik'Kiyah, you
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two were the hosts and I took a couple of clips from
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:02
your introductory speeches to the crowd. So we're gonna listen to those
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:07
clips now. And then I wanna talk to you about, what was the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:10
experience of emceeing a large event you all put a lot of time
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:15
and effort into preparation and making sure that you
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:19
were mentally, physically prepared to do this. So let's listen to this and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:27
then I wanna ask you about your experience. We have people from all different
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:31
walks of life in this room here today.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:33
We have some people who have been deeply affected by the issues of gun violence
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:37
and others who have not. In this room here today we have community
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:41
members, Southern alum, students, faculty, staff, parents, but although
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:49
our times may be different, we all have the ability to help tackle the issue
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:54
of gun violence. In my time as a counselor I've noticed that the youth is
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:26:58
being dragged into the reality of the violence in the city...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:02
Lives are being taken. Hearts are being shattered, families are being broken...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:09
I took on the task to do this project,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:12
so we can provide the SCCM family with the right resources to help
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:16
prevent gun violence ourselves. Being in the a university big on social
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:22
justice, this is a social injustice we can
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:24
all prevent ourselves. Alright, so it's not every day that you emcee, an
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:35
event of this size bringing in people from the community to talk about
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:40
something that's really hard to talk about, to have the media there,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:45
to have all of those people in the audience, I mean,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:47
standing remotely in the ballroom. So what was that experience like?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:27:53
If you think about your growth as a student, as a person,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:00
is it this something that you felt like you could have done before?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:04
I mean, does this change how you think about what you might do
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:08
in the future? So for me, let me just say this, I am
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:16
very shy. What? I am very shy. I spoke to KC prior to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:24
the event at in the beginning of class, expressing my interest in what
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:28
I wanna do after leaving College. So when he gave me this task of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:33
emceeing the event, I was like, Oh my God, how am I going to emcee an event
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:42
like... Perfect, great. I It was like What?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:46
I'm so nervous, I was nervous before we even started planning,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:49
like it was crazy, but throughout the process, my team, my team was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:28:55
very very helpful. They kept giving me words of encouragement, you know,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:01
they just made me go harder, and made me actually want to emcee the event.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:06
I had a great team, and then getting closer to the event, I felt like so
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:10
I was getting stronger, like I was capable of doing it.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:15
I saw my growth, personally, I saw my own growth, and then just
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:19
watching the clips from the event and just watching myself on the news,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:24
I was like, Shayna, what were you scared of? You literally killed it,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:29
you killed it. So just looking back from the first day thinking of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:34
planning the event, to after the event it was like a tremendous growth,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:40
like it was just crazy. I'm so glad to hear you own that,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:45
because I think a lot of times people diminish their own accomplishments,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:50
I'm obviously so proud of you all, but for you to say like,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:53
Wow, I did that. Yes, it's a big deal, and when the more
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:56
you do it, the more confident and better at it you're you'll get
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:29:59
'cause it's the idea that is scarier than the actual task itself.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:03
Yep, absolutely. How about for you, Nik'Kiyah? I just wanna say... Oh, go
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:07
ahead, Kayla. I'm sorry. I just wanted want to say, I am so
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:10
proud of Nik'Kiyah and Shay because they were naturals at this. They just
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:17
were so comfortable speaking, and I would have been nervous. And like Shay,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:22
she memorized her thing in like two days, she like read it to class
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:27
and then two days later, she's reading it for us and I was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:30
like, with nothing, I was like, you memorized that in two days?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:33
That's insane. When but you guys did so well, and I saw both of you grow,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:39
'cause you were both nervous. And I was like they, they're gonna kill this.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:44
They do not doubt yourselves because you you've got this and I am so
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:47
proud of you guys. Thank you. I definitely... I think I was insulted at
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:30:55
first... No Now, I wouldn't say I was scared because
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:00
I don't know, I'm always the one that do does the talking out
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:02
of everybody, like my friend groups and stuff, like I'll speak up first
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:06
but I definitely was scared because I didn't know
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:10
what type of crowd we were walking into. I knew that this was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:14
a serious matter, and I knew how much... How many doors this can open
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:19
for us, so having that little pressure, it did make me nervous.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:22
I didn't even memorize what I was supposed to say, I just was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:26
like, if I keep trying to read it off the cards, I'm gonna
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:29
mess up, so I just said Forget it, and I just started to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:33
talk and it started to come and I'm like, Alright, I got this.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:37
But to actually just be up there, having all those faces looking at
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:41
you... It's all so good because it's definitely not something that I thought
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:48
I can do. I definitely appreciate everyone in my group because we all
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:53
worked together, it's not like anyone have has to feel like they did
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:31:57
it on their own, we all were there to help each other and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:00
build off of each other. Yeah, and Nik'Kiyah, one thing that... Like the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:07
care with which you all emceed that event is one thing,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:13
like what you were talking about like this is a serious issue and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:16
people are coming with a lot of... Trauma. Trauma. Frustration. Yes. Sadness,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:26
hardships, you know when gun violence happens to a person, it doesn't just
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:30
happen to that individual, it happens to their family, their friends,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:34
their loved ones, it takes a toll on entire communities.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:38
Yeah, and you know, actually, Jamil, you didn't plan this, but that's a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:42
really good segue to hearing... I have two more clips to play for
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:46
us, I'll play one of them right now,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:48
this is Marlene Miller Pratt, one of the founders,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:52
the main founder of the New Haven Botanical Garden for Healing,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:56
which is also... It's very close to that community center that'll be opening
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:32:59
up, a beautiful healing space, but let's hear from her now,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:33:03
she talks about that toll. 0:33:06.3Marlene Miller Pratt:. Age? Age 19.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:33:30
People, I'm... This is Pamela Jane Henson. And Pam is also working with
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:33:38
me on in the botanical garden. I am a Southern Connecticut State University
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:33:45
alumni, 1985. And it's a pleasure to be back here.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:33:50
My son lost his life in 1998. And
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:33:57
you're hearing them in 2000, you are hearing them, just recently.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:00
I go back to 1998, and I still hurt. I still hurt. So,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:07
I don't even know how to comfort the Scott, or Nikki, or
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:12
anyone else because, going back that long and to say to them that the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:17
pain never goes away. A mother's love, and then to lose that child
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:21
from here. It leaves a void. And so at that time,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:27
I thought when I went to the mayor's office, and then looking for a spot
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:31
to do a botanical garden, I was thinking maybe 50, 60 people,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:36
70 people. And when I went to the police station to get the list, it was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:40
684 names in New Haven alone. And then, looking at those names, and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:47
looking at the years and the ages, while I was accumulating that list. It's
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:52
on my mind of knowing that this was my city. This is was where I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:34:59
grew up. And what my city had become. So I was on a mission, there for something
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:05
to remember every child. I didn't want a parent to have to go
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:10
to the cemetery like me, and say " We do know the cemetery but when
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:15
you go to the cemetery, you sit in that cemetery, and that cemetery reminds
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:20
you of the day that you have had to put on your all black, and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:24
you have had to lower that casket into the ground. It's not a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:29
good feeling. It reminds you of that tragedy that took place. So, we
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:37
had to create something that was gonna to be beautiful. Something that was
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:39
gonna not just be beautiful for the parents and their families, but to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:44
bring awareness to the city. That's a speaker there. That's a speaker.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:49
Oh I felt that. I did. So, in Connecticut, I'm thinking about how
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:53
gun violence is the second leading cause of death for children and teens.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:35:57
Disproportionately affecting young Black men in Connecticut, right? It's
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:02
happening in our major cities. It's happening in New Haven. It's happening
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:05
in Hartford. It's happening in my hometown of Bridgeport. And I think about
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:09
growing up in the inner city and how normalized gun violence feels as
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:14
a young person, right? Knowing that your friends are walking around with
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:18
guns, because that's the lifestyle so many folks in our inner city are having
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:22
to live. And to think about children, 15,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:29
16, 17, young people, vulnerable people in our inner cities
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:35
that are losing their lives every day to gun violence.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:39
How many mothers, how many fathers, how many brothers, are carrying caskets
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:42
or are mourning? And so, it's beautiful to think about us as a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:47
community coming together and healing. I often think about because I'm first
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:52
gen and this always comes to my mind.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:55
How can we re enter the communities that raised us?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:36:59
Especially being from Bridgeport, everyone would tell me you have to get
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:02
out of the city, you can't be here.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:05
Go get your degree Jamil, go get a nice job and leave is
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:08
what I was always told. But I think about the impact
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:12
that we have as college students. The impact that we now have to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:15
have access to this kind of resources that we probably did not grow
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:19
up with. I know I didn't ain't grow up with this kind of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:20
resource. And the impact we can could have going back and talking to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:26
our young teens, telling them the opportunities that we have, things that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:30
we see, the dreams that we're living. Because it's often hard for folks
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:35
that are growing up in these communities to see and believe,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:38
and even know somebody that are experiencing what we're experiencing, and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:42
maybe provide a little hope for them to escape gun violence.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:46
I didn't meet a person with a degree until I got to college
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:49
that looked like me. And so, it's powerful going home
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:54
to our inner cities and telling our youth that there's another way to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:37:57
live. And being a part of that change. So, I really enjoyed that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:01
speaker. So, Marlene, yes, Marlene is a an educator in our community.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:06
So, she's like so many people, she went to school here.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:09
She learned how to be a teacher here.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:12
She lost her son and has been a lifelong activist in his honor,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:17
in creating these healing spaces. But one thing
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:21
we talked a lot about as a group was trauma, and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:27
wanting to be mindful of... We can't just...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:32
You can't just go up to someone and ask them to bare their
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:36
soul and talk about the worst thing that has ever happened to them
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:39
in their life. That we to be take care with people who have
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:43
experienced trauma. But also, we have to talk about this issue.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:48
And how do we balance that ethically? And how do we also not
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:53
lay too much on the audience so that they just people feel re
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:38:56
traumatized and whatever they've experienced. So, that question about
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:04
how do we deal with people's with what they've experienced, but do that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:08
in a careful, mindful, thoughtful way towards making a difference and towards
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:14
healing? Do you all remember any of those conversations, or how we
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:20
came to the decision to invite some mothers to speak? I know I personally
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:26
feel inviting the mother to come speak would be probably one of the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:31
most impactful ways to get the audience to understand where we were coming
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:35
from. I felt like we needed someone who
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:39
not only experienced it, but experienced it first hand, that's a mother
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:46
losing their child. So I feel like that was one person that could relay
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:53
their feelings and relay a message the best way, because they've been there
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:39:57
for every part of that person's life. So
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:01
maybe them experiencing that and hearing their experience, can get people
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:06
to understand that's not a path they would like to walk.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:09
I know personally, when the mother spoke at the event, I started crying.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:17
And just to look around the room and to just see how everyone
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:22
felt, that pain that they were feeling, it was like,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:27
this is why we're having the event. It's like the aura in the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:32
room, it was crazy. It was very touching, I felt like having a mother
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:41
speak at the beginning really set the tone for the rest of the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:46
event. Yeah, I was crying too when the mothers were speaking because it
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:53
was so emotional and it just hit home. And I was looking around the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:40:57
audience when those mothers were speaking and the looks on people's faces,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:02
some of them was kinda like, oh, like they're realizing the reality of what
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:13
is happening, what these families are going through, they're losing their
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:17
loved ones, they're realizing the harsh reality of what gun violence is
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:24
doing to everyone, with whether you've experienced it or not, it's crazy.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:32
There was no dry eyes in audience, everyone was crying. In seeing people
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:44
reacting that way to the mothers, it honestly was kinda moving in a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:51
way because it really looked like what the mothers were saying and sharing
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:54
their stories was really impacting them and really making them think like,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:41:59
"Wow, I don't wanna have to go through that." I'm thinking about the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:09
role of universities in all of this. And
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:13
we're talking about students organizing, and because you assigned them this
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:19
project, we allowed a space to open up on campus
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:23
where folks can mourn, folks can be in community, folks can feel a sense
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:27
of belonging, a sense of kinship. 'Cause we get folks from all over
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:33
the state at Southern, students from all different walks of life, so students
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:37
that may have never even experienced gun violence can sit in that space
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:41
and understand its impact to all of us. And I even think about
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:45
how at Southern we do have a special connection to gun violence,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:49
we have the Sandy Hook Memorial outside, how that's impacted our university.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:42:55
Yeah, absolutely, gun violence is one of the great...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:02
I don't know what to call it, problems of our time?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:05
Tragedies of our time? But yeah, four of the educators who were killed
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:09
at Sandy Hook went to school here, were trained here, and we do
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:13
a memorial on campus, Sandy Hook is what, half hour? 40 minutes from
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:18
campus? Not even. Yeah, and that's all really close. And then we've had
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:24
a bunch of school lock downs since you all did the event the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:28
last few weeks of 2021, there have been a number of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:33
threats, it just continues, it continues on. I hear gunshots in my neighborhood,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:40
and it's just the magnitude of the problem, but the ability also for
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:45
us to know that we can make a difference, 'cause I think when
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:49
we really get into trouble is when we think that nothing we do
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:51
matters in that case. And so I wanna play one last clip, this
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:43:56
is from Gwendolyn Williams, and Jamil she was another phone a friend moment
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:03
for the team. So she's the Director for Youth and Recreation Services for
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:10
the city of New Haven. And I, in my naivete thought that,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:15
that meant basketball rec leagues, I'm thinking youth recreation, I'm thinking
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:21
basketball, that's the first thing I'm thinking, it's basketball. No, they
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:25
are a full family services, social services organization. So
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:32
she really breaks down some of the really like poverty issues that lead
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:39
to gun violence, but also creating hope and possibility for youth in the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:45
city. So let's hear from her. Mental risk doesn't cost you a thing, it is
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:52
just your time. And you're pouring it and investing in another person who
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:44:58
may not have the same thing that you have, they may not have
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:02
a person giving them positive affirmations every morning, I love you,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:12
you're beautiful, you're dope, you're my king, you're my home, you're my
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:14
princess, they may not have any one in their life that's giving that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:20
to them, except they have to wake up every day,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:24
and I am not giving you a hypothetical, I am telling you something we've
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:28
experienced because mum and dad weren't there. I need to get up, get my
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:34
younger siblings fed and off to school. I need to figure out a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:40
way to get some money, so I can have some food for them when they get home,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:42
keep the lights on. Stop the kids from bullying not just me.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:48
But my siblings because we don't have all the fancy clothes. I go
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:53
outside and it's cold and I only have a sweatshirt to wear because
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:45:57
I don't have a coat. I'm struggling in school but the teacher constantly
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:03
kicks me out of class because I don't understand what's going on and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:07
I start talking and misbehaving. But instead of asking me,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:13
what's wrong, they accuse me of being bad for I had no value
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:18
and no good. That's the reality, and that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:26
is what we're trying to change. You ma'am, you sir are the change
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:31
agent today in order to change the pattern of a young person.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:37
Is it possible? I might be living in a dream world, well, guess what? I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:43
like living this world, I truly believe that we can stop all of the gun
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:50
violence, I believe it. Yes, that is so perfectly said
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:56
as a way to explain to people that don't grow up in that
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:46:59
environment. I don't think folks can understand the weight that's on some
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:04
young people's shoulders, people that are 12, 13 taking care of their siblings,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:11
taking care of themselves, probably taking care of their elders.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:15
That's why I always believed in it takes a village to raise a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:19
child. When a child enters school and their teacher views them as a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:24
bad student, probably doesn't even live in that neighbourhood that child
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:27
lives in, unaware to the circumstances of this child's life will label them
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:32
as a bad child, even probably put them up for suspension without actually
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:35
going to the root of this child's issue.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:38
So many children in our inner cities that don't have access to food.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:42
There's so many problems that lean into gun violence,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:47
that lean into that, our needs are not being met.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:50
Yes, absolutely. And then there's addiction and then there's all kinds of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:47:56
things that lead kids into not having that village of support that they
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:01
need and really, I think of the event as sort of an invitation
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:05
to people in the audience to join that village. Yes, especially with us
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:10
producing most of the educators going into our state.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:15
Our School of Education is huge here, it's a big deal.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:19
So for even those students to have access to event like this,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:22
to hear speakers like that, that will better equip them to enter classrooms,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:26
to understand their students and think of creative ways of being a part
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:30
of that solution, 'cause I even think about growing up in Bridgeport, where
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:36
are the places that our youth can go and be safe?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:38
When my parents were growing up, they have the Boys and Girls Club,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:42
they had the YMCAs. So many of those programs are not receiving funding,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:46
so many of those programs are closing in cities across America,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:50
programs where your parents that work throughout the night can drop you
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:54
off during the day, so you'll stay off the streets and stay safe.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:48:59
I think about that often and how are we as young college students
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:02
going back to whatever little spaces we do have in our hometowns and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:06
impacting those spaces? This is a good event. This was a good event, I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:11
tell you. If we had more time, I'd play the full two hours
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:13
for you. So let me get... Yeah, before we let you go,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:18
Shay and Kayla, what were your... What advice would you have for
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:26
students who wanna make a difference? Whether or not you all thought of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:30
yourselves as activist before, you are now, so what advice would you have
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:36
for students who wanna make a difference but maybe they don't
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:39
have the confidence or the sense that... Or even where to start,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:43
what advice do you have? I'll say the same thing that I told the news...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:47
Boom. Like I told Channel 3. The news. The news. Alright, go ahead, girl.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:49:54
I would say go to these organizations, they always need help.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:00
Just get out there, put yourself out there, even if you think that you're
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:06
not helping in making a change, you are, you never know,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:09
you just never know. So I would definitely say reach out to these organisations,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:16
just start finding ways yourself to try to make a change. There's multiple
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:23
opportunities out there that are interested in these young students, especially
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:28
young students, because hearing stuff from up here, it's better. People
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:35
don't... A lot of kids don't listen to what adults have to say. Here we
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:39
have somebody who's close in age, they go to school, who are put in the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:44
same team with you, something like that, it means a lot to them.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:49
Yep. So I think there are two big takeaways on what you just
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:53
said, one being the opportunities are out there, just go connect with these
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:50:57
organisations. There are folks who are looking for your help. And the second
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:02
piece is to really... And I saw you do this this semester,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:06
is to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. So when you have
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:09
that moment, when you're like, "Oh my God, what did I just do?"
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:12
then you do it or you know that that's sort of pushing the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:15
edge in helping you grow. So if you're like, "Oh, I'm nervous to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:21
call this person," or, "I'm nervous to show up to this event,"
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:24
to just pause for a second and then go ahead and do it.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:29
Yes. Staying comfortable does not allow for growth. No, it does not.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:33
Growth is not comfortable. But I can think of a thousand ways for
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:38
students to be impactful. Even with the issue of gun violence in America,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:43
gun deaths, if you're a student and you're listening to this and you're
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:46
a Political Science student, maybe it's your job to work with legislators,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:51
maybe go intern in Capitol Hill, go talk to politicians and come up
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:51:56
with creative issues. If you're a Comm student, host an event.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:52:00
If you're in the School of Education, come up with comprehensive plans to
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:52:05
deal with students that are being impacted by gun violence in your class,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:52:08
it's your project, right? The CDC for 20, 25 years were not allowed
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funding for gun violence research. We need gun violence research badly,
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they just were allowed funding in 2018. So... For anybody that's listening
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at a university, faculty, grad students, undergrad students... That's what
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we do right? Research. We do research. That's one of the most meaningful
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ways we could actually help, is providing folks, non profits, government
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officials with actual data and numbers. Absolutely. And you know Leonard
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Jahad, one of our speakers, he called... Or no, was it Stacy Spell,
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project longevity. He specifically asked for research. Yes. Like that as
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:52:52
well... And some folks are looking for people to play with kids after
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school, some places are looking for that hard data to help them
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really get at the root cause of the problem or raise grants.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:53:04
All sorts of reasons. Yeah, especially if you go to a research institution.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:53:08
I'm thinking of UConn. Yes. That's what we have. We have resources...
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Yes. To do research. We have researchers that were trained,
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and we can make a big difference in creating that... And I'm thinking
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:53:19
of faculty right now too. Faculty should be
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assigning these kind of projects to students, you'd be amazed at what can
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happen. Yeah. I mean, that's part of why I wanted to do this
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podcast, was to sort of demystify, to show a behind the scenes for
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:53:35
how can we... We didn't solve gun violence,
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but we also did more than raise awareness because there's a lot of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:53:43
awareness out there for all that we know about, all the horrible things
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happening in the world, right? We know about most of them,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:53:50
many of them. But beyond that, what are we gonna do about it?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:53:54
Alright. So Kayla, what were some of your... What advice would you have
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for young student activists? I would just say,
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if you're passionate about something and you wanna make a difference, do
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it. Don't second guess yourself. And if you're scared to do it by
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:12
yourself, find people who have the same belief and have the same passion
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:19
of the same thing. If it wasn't for Shay and Nik'Kiyah, I would... I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:22
don't know what I would have been doing in that class,
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I don't know what our project would have been, but
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we all have the same common passion and wanted to make a difference
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:32
about this. So just don't be scared, but just put yourself out there, get
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:38
out of your comfort zone, because you don't realize how much of a
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:43
difference you're gonna make until you do it. So just be confident in
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:47
yourself and do it. Like host an event, that's... To me,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:50
that was a really impactful way to just raise awareness, so
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:53
just do it. Get to... You're gonna get stuck in the mud, but
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:54:57
you're gonna get out and... That's a great point. Just do it. Yeah.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:04
I mean, there were so many times when you all were literally stuck
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:08
in the mud. And I don't know if you know this,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:10
but it keeps me... I act like I'm fine all the time,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:13
but I'm not, I'm not fine. This keeps me up at night.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:17
You could ask my wife. There are weeks when I'm like,
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I'm up at night, I can't fall asleep 'cause I'm thinking,
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"I'm worried about this," or when I wake up at 3:00 in the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:25
morning, I'm like, "Oh no, the event. What about this? What about that?
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:29
Can you all pull it off?" And obviously, I'm pushing you
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:36
outside of your comfort zones, but knowing full well that I have complete
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:40
confidence in your ability to do it. I'm not pushing you to do
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:43
something that I don't think you can actually do. But no,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:45
this has been keeping me up at night also, so I think really...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:50
Maybe that's a pretty important takeaway, is when people say no to you...
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:53
I mean, we experience setbacks at every point, whether that's getting the
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:55:59
brochures printed, inviting people, getting the space. I mean, it was like,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:04
No, no, no, no, no, over and over and over.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:08
And we had to keep going. And sometimes you just fail at things, and that's
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:12
perfectly fine as well. Which is also fine. I told them like, "The
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:16
project can fail. It doesn't mean you're gonna fail the class."
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:18
Yes. I have failed plenty events. I've had events where I have put
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:25
so much, I think about... There was this
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:28
Black voting program I hosted trying to get the Black residents of my
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:32
residence hall to vote, and I put together this gorgeous table of information,
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I had this whole TED Talk speech I was ready to give about
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Black voting rights and the rights of college students and organizing,
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and only 25 students showed up, 25 Black students showed up.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:56:52
And I was so sad 'cause I was like, "Oh my God,
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I was preparing for 70 students, 80 students. I only got 25."
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:00
And then I sat down and I talked to them.
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And I was giving them my TED Talk, and we started talking,
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and the conversation expanded larger than voting rights. And I got all 25
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:11
of them registered to vote with a plan to vote,
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and it became a healing space. So even though it wasn't the event I
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:18
expected, it was a really good event. That's a good takeaway too,
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:23
is like those 25 people needed to be there. Yes. And if you
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get lost in the, "Oh, I wanted 75,"
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then you're sort of missing what's actually happening right in front of
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:34
you. And sometimes smaller events is more intimate, they're just better
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than an event with 500 people. Right, right. Yeah. So I think
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:43
that's another great takeaway, is to know that
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on your path, that you will fail many times.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:51
Yeah. And you will... Sometimes you'll exceed your expectations and sometimes
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:57:55
you'll fall below them, but it's all a part of the learning process
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:00
to get you to where you're gonna go, and all of it has a... Makes
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:03
an impact. Yes. You can't let nos and
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:08
"Failures", whatever that means, stop you. Yes. Work within your social
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:13
circles, work within your resources, and I guarantee you there is something
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:17
you can do. Look at us sounding all inspirational now, how great.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:22
Starting off Season Four. Yes. Well, thank you all so much.
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:27
Thank you for being here. Shay, Kayla, and Nik'Kiyah, stay in touch with
you for having us. 0:07:30.9Nik'kiyah Brown 00:58:32
us and let us know what you get up to next. Thank you