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Shayla Torres dealt with a lot of violence in her last school, where she was a peer mediator. Here, the 17-year-old junior recalls one especially contentious situation.
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Piece Description
Shayla Torres dealt with a lot of violence in her last school, where she was a peer mediator. Here, the 17-year-old junior recalls one especially contentious situation.
Transcript
Violence can be found in something as simple as a No. 2 pencil.
I was called down to the peer-mediation room, where we peer-mediators step in to resolve fights between fellow students. The room had one table in the center, surrounded by four chairs. I sat at the middle of the table and wondered who’d be walking through those doors. And what problem would escort them in.
The door opened with a creek. I stood up - all 4’11’’ of me and saw one girl as big as a line backer, with her white button up shirt torn a bit and scratches ripped across her face. She was brought in by Rico, our school police officer, who left after placing her at one end of the table. Then a skinny girl walked in, who was at least 5’9’’. Her braids had been yanked out of her head, left and right. Bruises claimed random spaces of her body and her left cheek was puffed up, as if her molars had been pulled out. I could...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Philly Youth Radio works with young people to produce their own radio stories. The project brings us the series "Students of Violence," where local high school students tell true stories about the violence that has changed their lives. Shayla Torres dealt with a lot of violence in her last school, where she was a peer mediator. Here the 17 year old junior recalls one especially contentious situation.
OUTRO:That was Shayla Torres for “Students of Violence.” Her essay was produced by Philly Youth Radio.
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