In brief
On a day meant for studying, Mia Tretta received alarming emergency alerts during finals week at Brown University, which echoed her previous experience as a shooting survivor. As alerts for a shooting in the engineering building inundated students, she and others faced the harsh reality that their university was not a sanctuary from violence. With nine injured and two fatalities, Tretta reflects on the growing threat campus spaces carry for those who have endured similar tragedies in the past.
When Brown University junior Mia Tretta’s phone began buzzing with an emergency alert during finals week, she tried to convince herself it couldn’t be happening again. In 2019, Tretta had been shot in the abdomen during a mass shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. Two students were killed, and she and two others were wounded. She was 15 at the time. As the messages continued, the sense of dread grew. By the end of that day, two people would be dead and nine others injured in a Providence, Rhode Island shooting that upended Brown’s campus. “No one should ever have to go through one shooting, let alone two,” Tretta shared, reflecting on her tormenting experience. This incident starkly illustrates a grim reality faced by a generation of students now in college, having rehearsed lockdowns and active-shooter drills throughout their education, only to confront the same bloodshed in locations they hoped would feel safe. Similar reports have emerged from students across various schools, who have faced multiple violent events. Tretta's story resonates deeply with students from Parkland and other affected communities, emphasizing the critical need for discussions around gun violence and increasing the pressure on schools and legislators for stricter control measures.For Tretta, her present circumstance seems doubly painful as she works on a research paper addressing the educational challenges faced by survivors like herself. I chose Brown because it felt like a safe place, a refuge from past experiences, but that illusion has shattered,” she revealed. The tragedy at Brown University further complicates Tretta’s ongoing advocacy for reducing gun violence, thrusting her back into a conversation as urgent as it is heartbreaking.
