Arsenal Tech Forum Focuses on Youth Violence

A group of Indianapolis high school students is working on a project to tackle some of the city’s most challenging issues.

It kicked off Tuesday with a conversation on youth violence.

Students in Arsenal Technical High School’s Urban Media Institute came up with an idea to hold a town hall forum on the issue.

They invited public safety officials, community leaders, and school administrators to weigh in.

But, as moderator Korie Warren explains, the goal was to give students a voice for how to combat violence in their neighborhoods.

"We talked about different organizations in the communities that are available and coming up with after school things that you can do instead of just going home and not having anything to do," she said.  "We want to just keep the kids busy with things to do."

And, the senior believes the discussion will inspire change.

"I just hope that students know that there are people behind them and there are people who care and that they are not alone" said Warren.

Student Publications Advisor Donna Griffin says the message is more impactful when it presented to students by students and she says solutions are specifically important for those at Arsenal Tech because violence is hitting close to home.

"We happen to realize that the majority of the (violence) areas were either, students lived there or they were nearby our campus," she said.  "It’s been an issue in this area.  We are so close to downtown and there have been all the problems with Circle Center Mall, so we just decided to have our take on it."

The class is organizing another forum later in the year on college preparedness.