Call To Action: #RIPAmy!

Miara Bonner

April 21, 2016…a day to remember in Wilmington, Delaware. Sixteen year old Amy Inita Francis-Joyner was pronounced dead at A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital after being brutally beaten by several girls in a school bathroom. This is an extremely heartbreaking story, bringing tears to the eyes of many and placing fear in the hearts many more. Nonetheless, the question at hand becomes, what can be done to ensure that this tragedy is used as a learning experience rather than just a sad story?

As a sixteen year old, high school student, this story literally brought me to tears. A school should be a safe haven for students to practice effective conflict resolution skills and engage in positive interactions. However, this tragedy is a prime example of a lack of structure within a school, justified by a good reputation. Many schools do not take the time to ensure that the value of rules, as well as consequences, is instilled within students. In addition, schools do not take the extra steps to ensure that both male and female students are provided with the skills to engage in positive interactions among their peers. There are many programs that focus on the development of these skills and target the high school community. Yet, teenagers are not exposed to these programs and therefore, do not take advantage. As a start to decreasing the amount of conflict among high school students, schools should adopt these programs, using them as tools to teach the importance of conflict/resolution skills and in order to prevent incidents such as, Amy Joyner, from happening.