Students from the Tongue Point Job Corps Center hosted multiple events as part of the national, Job Corps student-led anti-violence initiative, Youth 2 Youth: Partners 4 Peace. Over 450 students and 130 staff participated in this powerful campaign.

Students started Youth 2 Youth, or Y2Y, with three basic aims; to talk about violence and aggression in their communities, to empower one another to prevent violence and aggression, and to share their stories and talk about solutions to help prevent violence and aggression.

Glazer and 24 year Student Ambassador Catherine Sautner said, “Violence is not an issue here at Tongue Point, but we aren’t one whole center yet. That is what Y2Y is about, seeing people as real people. Like they are people you should care about.”

ACT student and 23 year old Ambassador Bryndan Bailey believes, “The Y2Y Week at TPJCC has been tremendous, thus far everyone has jumped on board and is really responding well to the efforts to rid violence. I understand that all it takes is one student having a bad day for another person to push them to do irrational things. So that’s why I composed a skit that was performed at every mass meeting about the effects of negative energy versus positive energy.”

The campaign was a success in having student and staff talk about aggression and creating a culture of caring. The week kicked off with a powerful skit in every dorm about how hurtful words from one person can extinguish the light in another. Students reported that the lunchtime Mix-It-Up connected them with friends they wouldn’t have met otherwise. In interviewing students, it was reported that the diversity games on Wednesday were enjoyable in not only their activities but also seeing their peers proudly share their culture with others. Thursday a peace banner was hung and will remain up for the rest of the month. It has blank space for students to write about visualizing peace. Friday concluded with in-depth small group discussion about improving safety, security and student/staff culture. A barbeque wrapped up the campaign and sent students off for a weekend with a stronger sense of community and support.

Enlightening skit

Every dorm set aside time during their normal mass meeting for this special Y2Y presentation. All lights were dimmed except for a group of flashlights held by student participants. Each time a bullying statement was made, one of them would turn off their flashlight. Bryndan explains it best, “We showed how negative comments can ruin someone’s shine and that the only reason people even attempt such a thing is because hurt people, hurt other people. Then we showed what happened after positive affirmations. I had the narrator of the skit close with these words:

You see we are just like plants, as humans, we need water, air, nutrients, and sunlight to grow. The energy from sunlight given to a plant is used to chemically change water and carbon dioxide into sugar. This process is called photosynthesis. A product from photosynthesis is oxygen. SO you see the more light we intake from each other the better we grow inside and helping other people grow inside too leads to a better community for the future. The energy from the light we have given to a person who is hurt is used to chemically change pain and hate into LOVE. This process is called Y2Y. A product from Y2Y is Peace.

“The student body LOVED it and has really rallied behind efforts to keep Tongue Point positive.”

Ayan Moalin, 23 year old Dental Assisting student, “It was a nice skit and I thought the flashlight aspect was great. Usually if someone is feeling sad or ungrateful their light turns off.”

Superpowers

Tuesday activity focused on bringing students together who normally wouldn’t take the chance to connect. When students entered the dining hall they were given candy bars, then they could join a table labeled with their same candy bar. They would end up sitting with random group of students and staff. Discussion questions were placed on the table to guide conversations.

Catherine helped organize the event and shared, “The discussion portion was my favorite because it makes it easier to see other people’s world views and that it often coincides with your own. We researched ice breaker questions and other Mix It Up day events. There were discussion questions like ‘What kind of superpower would you have’, this one makes it easier to understand someone because you see how they view themselves.” Accomplishment was felt, “Seeing the matching candy bars on the tables confirmed that they were actually sitting with people based on mixing it up versus just their friends.”

“Mix It Up day was great because people were pushed to sit somewhere different.” reported Ayan. “No one likes to hang out with new people at first, but it is a good thing. By people interacting with other people they don’t normally interact with, they understand the other person more, know what they are going through. This understanding will lead to less violence. I think all students should learn to accept one another. You are in a new environment at Job Corps, so look at things new.”

The need for action

Founded in the spring of 2015, Y2Y is a violence-prevention initiative created by and led by Job Corps students nationwide. This initiative is the first national, student-created and student-led effort to curb youth violence on Job Corps centers, in their surrounding communities, and in the hometowns of their students and graduates.

Students recognize that violence-online, in the workplace, and at home-is a critical issue that young professionals must be equipped to understand, avoid, and address.

Tongue Point conclusion

Ayan summarizes Y2Y at Tongue Point, “I think the mission of Y2Y is a great and it will make a difference. On our center violence isn’t really an issue, people aren’t impulsive when it comes to that.” But she wants people to know, “You shouldn’t judge others based on race, sexual orientation, or if they are rich or poor. Judge them based on their integrity. Do they keep their word, keep your secret, and would they return a found wallet?”