Oakland High School Students Help Each Other Cope With Violence
OAKLAND (KCBS) - In the last two weeks, three teenagers have been killed on the streets of Oakland, one of them a well-respected senior at East Oakland's School of the Arts, which is part of the Castlemont High campus.
Christopher Jones, 17, was shot as he helped place his sister's daughter into a car on Fresno Street New Year's Eve day. By all accounts Jones was a good student who was respectful, and not involved in gangs. Still he is one of more than a dozen Oakland students who have been killed this school year.
KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:
"I do feel protected by others surrounding me," said senior Trina Jermaine, who goes to the school of the arts. "I have all of my friends and family, but it still kind of feels unsafe when I'm walking to school and all that."
Dana Hannon is the resource specialist at the school, and a recent graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa. She picked Oakland as her first school job knowing full-well that there are problems, but she tells KCBS she was still surprised by their magnitude.
"I had no idea how much it (the deaths) would hurt," said Hannon. "It's why we're all here, because we want to make it a better place for our students."
Many of the students have been wearing sweatshirts with Jones' picture on the front.
"I really feel like he didn't deserve to die because he didn't do anything wrong. He never did anything wrong to anybody," said student Serena Wolf. "I'm not mad or sad about going to school here. I like going to school in Oakland because I can express myself, and I don't have to hide who I am."
Hannon said that the students' support for each other has been very helpful.
"I think people have definitely come together. Kids have been talking about it, and are remaining really positive, despite how negative and upsetting the situation is," said Hannon.
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