S.J.C.’s President Calls Meeting With Minister Musa and ComPol to Address Student Safety Concerns

Wellington Williams

The murder of sixteen-year-old Saint John’s College student, Wellington Williams, has brought into sharp focus concerns about student safety outside of the S.J.C. campus. Over the last seventeen months, three students who had been attending the high school lost their lives to gun violence. And, less than three weeks ago, we told you about a sixteen-year-old S.J.C. student who visited the police station where he reported that he was attacked by several persons while walking along Princess Margaret Drive. During that incident, the teenager was struck in the face several times. As for the outcome of the police investigation into that matter, we told you that charges were levied against three teenagers for the crime of dangerous harm. Mirtha Peralta, the President of S.J.C., explained that while there is a public perception that the students who attend the high school are not exposed to certain risks, the reality is different. She says, a large percentage of the high school’s population reside in areas where they are required to navigate the social ills plaguing their communities on a daily basis.  In the wake of Williams’ murder President Peralta has called a meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa and the Commissioner of Police Chester Williams to address the safety concerns of these students outside of the school compound.

Mirtha Peralta

Mirtha Peralta, President, S.J.C.

“One of the things we have done is we have called on minister Kareem Musa and also on the Commissioner, Mr. Chester Williams and so we are meeting with them tomorrow morning. again, we have invited the facility and the administration to be a part of that conversation. I know that many people will say that I reactive, but no it is not. If we leave it after Easter or say this is Easter break let us worry about that when we come back, the emotion, the feeling will not be there as it is in the first forty-eight to seventy-two hours. And so, we want to be able to have that conversation to see what it is that we can do, what it is that government can do. This is an education institution and we cannot solve all the societal problems that are out there. But, our role here is to educate and we can do that through education, and so we are thinking about those measures we can take and that proactive approach with our new incoming group.”