SeaTac community discusses solutions to rampant violence

Community members gathered at SeaTac’s Tyee High School this week to discuss moving toward safety together in the wake of several violent attacks in the Burien and SeaTac areas.

RELATED: Burien machete attack victim speaks out

Organized by the Highline School District and facilitated by two Tyee students, the Tuesday night meeting drew about 40 concerned parents, students, school district staff members, and both local and national government representatives.

“We believe that the kind of solutions that we’re seeking aren’t going to happen with just the city working alone or the school district working alone or any other group or agency working alone,” said Steve Grubb, chief talent officer for the school district.

Tuesday’s gathering was the third of four meetings held at different high schools throughout the district.

In March, two teenage girls were shot and killed in Burien. Last month, a man was attacked with a machete while walking down the street in Burien after he tried to stop two drunk men from harassing a homeless person.

Tyee High School mother Osiris Cuevas, who has lived in SeaTac for several years, said that she and her teenage daughter regularly see people shot in their neighborhood, just streets away from the high school.

“We’ve witnessed violence both from police and students — there was a student murder in front of our home last year,” she said.

Tyee sophomore Itza Cueva, 16, who helped organize the meeting, said that she felt much safer when she lived in California.

“I feel like we’re getting much better [here], but [we] need to work more,” she said.

“There’s a lot of gang violence here, and they bring guns [to campus] sometimes,” added Tyee junior Cheyenne Crandell, 17, who also helped facilitate the meeting.

Attendees discussed questions such as what a safe community looks like and how to empower students to feel like their voices are heard — in particular when it is their own safety at risk.

“Tonight is mainly about having our voices be heard and making a change about the school safety,” Crandell said.

SeaTac conversation

Solutions discussed included making an effort to get to know your neighbors, focusing on kindness every day, focusing on equity, eliminating confrontational situations before they escalate to violence (for example, making recess less competitive), and making sure the district does a better job of communicating with parents, especially in terms of getting news about lockdowns and school emergencies out before rumors and false information begin to spread via social media.

Cuevas said that communication is the element most lacking in the district. The district’s response to the incidents of violence such as the ones that she and her daughter witnessed has been to push them under the rug rather than bring them out in the open and talk about them.

“The biggest thing as a community that we could do about violence is to talk about it and keep it real,” Cuevas said. “We can’t sugarcoat it and we have to bring out what’s really happening — have that communication from the school to the parents, and the parents to the school and the teachers, what’s really happening out there — make awareness of it.”

SeaTac City Councilmember Peter Kwon pointed out at the meeting that the city is already taking proactive steps to combat the epidemic of violence that has taken hold.

“We authorized hiring more police officers for the City of SeaTac in January … we should be getting at least seven more police officers on the street soon,” he said.

He explained that the reason this had not already taken immediate effect was because of the months of training new officers must go through. Meanwhile, Kwon said that he personally will make an effort to reach out to and welcome every new person he sees moving into his neighborhood.

The event drew not just municipal government leaders, but also federal ones. Savio Pham, district representative for 9th Congressional District Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), said that the congressman is concerned about finding solutions to the violence in the region.

“Congressman Adam Smith is very supportive of student safety [and] providing equality for everyone to achieve their dreams and to move forward in their lives,” he said.

The fourth community meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 10 at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines.

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