We all have them – favorite routes traveled by car or by foot, by bike or other modes of transportation. Scattered landmarks along the routes mark progress to the destination. Perhaps it’s a coffee shop, a park or the giant pine tree that tells us how far we have come and how far is left to go.
For so many years, my favorite trek was from home to Metamora for riding lessons. Within 45 minutes, my world transformed from the typical suburban sites to the horse farms and woods of Metamora. Dirt roads, even though bumpy at times, were a welcome change to the congested roads of the suburbs. There was always the one last bastion of suburbia to pass before I entered the tranquility of Metamora horse country, a high school – Oxford High School.
The shooting at Oxford High School that killed four students and injured more is the most recent reminder of the crisis of gun violence in the US. Following the shooting, conversations about gun violence and “what to do” moved to the front of the news cycle. Families, friends and and co-workers discussed the tragedy of the Oxford High School shooting and discussed ways to prevent future incidents. All too often the discussions turn into a bitter debate on the right to own guns and the interpretation of the the Second Amendment. If the purpose of the debate is to reduce the human toll of gun violence, perhaps the issue of gun violence is best viewed as a public health crisis?
This Weekend Reading series begins with The Kids Are Not All Right with articles on the effects of school shootings and tips to help children cope with the tragedy. Next explore The Kids Are Not Alone with articles on the human and financial costs of gun violence. In What’s the Answer? explore a number of interesting perspectives on how to reduce gun violence. Finally, do not miss Ever Wonder, and my personal favorite – Why Do We Fall for Scams?
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. The Kids Are Not All Right
Econofact: Lasting Effects of Exposure to School Shootings
WebMD: The Hidden Costs of School Shootings
The Conversation: Most school shooters get their guns from home – and during the pandemic, the number of firearms in households with teenagers went up
Chalkbeat: Resources to help Michigan families cope with the Oxford High School shooting
2. The Kids Are Not Alone
Beckers Hospital Review: The cost of gun violence in the US, by the numbers
Reuters: ‘Still a mess’: Trauma haunts U.S. mass shooting survivors due to gaps in mental healthcare
Psychology Today: Are We Becoming Numb to School Shootings?
EurekAlert: US children pay high price for gun violence
3. What’s the Answer?
American Public Health Association: Gun Violence is a Public Health Crisis
World Economic Forum: What can we learn from each other about preventing gun violence?
Nature: Gun violence is surging — researchers finally have the money to ask why
Univ. of MI Health: Youth violence prevention program finds success in emergency room, primary care settings
WebMD: Mental Illness Not a Factor in Most Mass Shootings
4. Ever Wonder?
Jstor Daily: Why Do We Fall for Scams?
Science: How to hug, according to science
Smithsonian Magazine: Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads? New Study Offers Clues
McGill Office for Science and Society (OSS): Why does plastic stay wet in the dishwasher whereas glass comes out dry?
Enjoy your weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
