Last Friday night, 15-year-old Alex Arellano was chased, beaten, shot and burned. According to news reports, police blame gang members. Neighbors and family say Alex was not involved with gangs himself. Still, threats from gang members led his family to take him out of school last fall. Alex’s death brings the number of Chicago Public Schools students killed this school year to 35. Eliza Soloviej is the director of organizing at the Southwest Youth Collaborative, and Marcus Williams is a junior at Harper High School in Englewood. Marcus shares his—and other students’ reaction—to the death of Alex Arellano.

Music Button: Liftoff, “The Collector”, from the CD Dubbed Out In DC, (ESL records)