In the Indianapolis area, crime rates are at an all-time high. The Indianapolis murder rates have now surpassed Chicago, a city known for its high murder rates.

Violence doesn’t only happen on our city’s streets; violence unmistakable exists in schools around our area too. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), shootings accounts for less that 1 percent of homicides among youth, but most forms of teen violence at school happen without guns in the form of fights and bullying.

So how is Ben Davis doing with all the violence in our state?

“I would like to think that in general we are an environment that does not encourage violence,” Assistant Principal Matt Clodfelter said, “Violence is foreign to our environment. This is an environment where kids come to learn. My feeling is that violence in our hallways is not a big issue that we deal with. It’s a place where students feel safe,”

Although Ben Davis doesn’t provide talks throughout the year about being violence-free and informing students about the dangers and consequences of violence, mostly everyone realizes deep down the results of violence. So why do students proceed with violent tendencies?

No one for sure knows what exactly causes teen violence because every student is different. Any possible explanations for teen violence are known as risk factors instead of actual causes.

Even though there’s a discrepancy, there are several theories and reasons, such as the lack of opportunities to be successful at school, lack of teachers who provide encouragement, and bouncing back from negative experiences in their lives can all build up and resort teenagers to violence.

Here at Ben Davis, we have several opportunities for students to turn to in order to feel safe or get help.

“We have 60 different clubs and student organizations,” Clodfelter said, “I would like to think that all of them provide a place for students to go if they feel that they are at-risk. We do have our counselors available that deal specifically with students that are participating in those risky behaviors,”

Even though most believe that Ben Davis promotes a nonviolent environment, students can always speak their mind about the matter. Clodfelter wants students to feel comfortable talking about these issues. If students ever have an idea on how to help keep violence away from Ben Davis, such as a club or another school activity, don’t be afraid to voice your ideas.

“I think that the key is always going to be our students being leaders in our hallways,” Clodfelter said, “If students have an idea to help promote nonviolence, I’m more than willing to listen.”

Students play a major part in keeping Ben Davis a nonviolent environment. While we do have teachers and counselors for students at-risk of violent behaviors, choosing on your own not to participate in even the smallest forms of violence and instead seeking other ways to solve negative feelings can help our school remain less violent.

Do your part in keeping our hallways violence-free and promote a safe place to learn in here at Ben Davis.