B14 SPECIAL FEATURE

Stallworth shares experience of gun violence

JUMANA ALSAADOON
managing editor

“G
un violence is basically a con-
cept that I don’t really un-
derstand. It doesn’t make any
sense to me. Like I know what it is obvi-
ously, but it shouldn’t be a thing,” Soph-
omore Mani Stallworth said. “I’m really
sick of guns in general, they’re so dan-
gerous and damaging and violent. They
don’t need to be here. There are so many
ways you can protect yourself.”
Black people are twice more likely to
be shot and killed than white people and
14 times more likely than white people to
get wounded by guns. Stallworth being a
black American had a different relation-
ship to gun violence than white children.
“Because I’m black, my history of gun
violence is a bit different than maybe ev-
eryone else, but when I was a kid my mom
had a list of rules that we’re supposed to
follow. You couldn’t be out late, you defi-
nitely could not play with toy guns, no
water guns, no any type of guns,” Stall-
worth said. REMEMBRANCE Memorial near the football field for 17-year-old Calour Fields, who died in an
act of gun violence. PHOTO BY BOB ADAMEK
This rule at first was confusing for
Stallworth as a little child, but soon she
understood the reason behind it. Stallworth said. thing being exposed to all this violence,
“I never really understood why, when- Advocating against gun rights was video games, books, so why is that every-
ever we would get a gun for a halloween something important to Stallworth af- day that they’re already exposed to vio-
present or something. I remember one ter life experiences along with learning lence, but they don’t do anything about
time she threw it off a balcony. I was so more about gun violence. it,” Stallworth said.
mad at her, but then I grew up and then I An unquantifiable topic is the mental Social media has also been a driving
realized people view black kids in a neg- health of those who are exposed to gun force in the debate between restricting
ative light, and they’re scared of them al- violence. While there might be a com- guns or allowing them to be obtainable
ready,” Stallworth said. mon belief that only those who have di- despite the harm they cause because
As Stallworth got older she continued rectly witnessed of the Second Amendment right. Stall-
to see the reasoning behind this strict gun violence suffer from mental health worth herself saw the worst of the debate
rule. issues, this is not true. Gun violence has on social media.
“Having any type of thing that can a ripple effect in the community and be- “I remember seeing this tiktok, and
signify a weapon, gives them a [bigger] yond that, the threat of violence on indi- this guy was asking this other guy if you
reason to fear us. And when people are viduals lives daily in schools and out is knew you could save a kid’s life if you
scared they do crazy stuff. She didn’t enough to cause stress and other disor- banned a gun, would you do it? And he
want us to be in danger, she didn’t want ders. said let the kid die. And that really put
us to be hurt because we lived in a poor The American Psychology Association it in perspective for me, if you don’t un-
income place. It was kind of dangerous found in 2018, 75% of individuals aged derstand how people feel about kids now
with crime. Any sight of any gun even if between 15-21 say mass shootings are a you can clearly tell now,” Stallworth said.
it did not look real could probably set significant source of stress. See more on hhsmedia.com
off someone, and they would attack us,” “People already say it’s not a good

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 PAGE DESIGN BY CLARE KIRWAN