Last week, the shooting at 54th street was so horrible that it made everyone of us feel unsafe around the campus. Dennis Shaoxiong Lin was the third student of UChicago who died in a shooting around the campus. While urging the university to increase patrol and security, we all know the root of the problem is the south side of Chicago — the fight of gangsters, abuse of gun violence, and the lack of administration. UChicago may be an anchoring point on the south side, but in absence of gun control and intensive administration, we are more like victims than antidote.
We Are Chicago is just the right game we should study at this moment. Though it is one of the worst games I have ever seen in terms of its image quality and setting rendering, the essence of this game is to let us know what is happening on the south side of Chicago. Ever since I came to UChicago, I never for once step one foot further south than Cathey dining commons because I have heard how dangerous the south side is. The recent shootings and armed robbery just confirmed the rumors. However, instead of just avoiding the neighborhood, we should tackle the root cause of this unsafety — poverty and gun violence. We Are Chicago makes me realize that while we have a choice to stay away from the south side, there are people who simply can’t. I used to think that I felt afraid and unsafe only because I came from one of the safest countries where girls could walk alone at night. However, We Are Chicago makes me realize that most people are afraid and unsatisfied with the condition right now.
We need action, from school, from every one of us, and most importantly from the administration. It is just impossible to imagine that in a country that claims to promote freedom of everyone and of any kind, there are not a small number of people who don’t have the freedom to live. The American dream of rags-to-riches stories is just a dream for these underprivileged people.
