Being a Voice for the Voiceless

A personal essay by Talley Timms

“The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all” –Arvo Pärt

Last year, in preparation for an internship, I read a victim’s statement given by a ten-year-old girl who witnessed an argument between her father and stepmom escalate to the point of violence, ending in her father headbutting her stepmom and breaking her nose. What surprised me first about this victim’s statement was how careful the child was to protect her father, making excuses and minimizing the trauma, even though he clearly put her in a high-risk situation. What surprised me more was the obvious shame this child felt for events over which she had no control. But what surprised me most was how little I remembered of this witness statement considering that I was that ten-year-old girl.

Uncomfortable

A Personal Essay by Hailey Kate Chatlin

“When Citizens prefer comfort to principles, much that ought to be valued is not.” -Joel M. Allred

Zoey Davis sits alone at the lunch table reading a book. She wears a green short-sleeved shirt with a tiny pink bow sewed onto the chest. Her plastic cheetah print headband has shifted to the back of her head allowing strands of curly brown hair to cascade around her face.. I should sit next to her. She’s only reading to fill the silence, I should sit down… but my friends are waiting for me upstairs. What would we talk about? I brush past the table giving Zoey a small smile and wave.