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Leslie Rios, NE Campus
“Most sharks are harmless. Just don’t go up to them. They don’t go up to you most of the time. More people die from vending machines than they do from sharks … They’re nice. You just don’t go up to them and they’re fine. Now if they come up to you, that’s a whole different problem.”
Kiara Guarido, TR Campus
“Well when you think of a whale shark — I love whale sharks — but great whites, I don’t know. They’re kind of scary looking, but at the same time if you don’t get near where they are, they’re harmless anyways. I feel like with [the ‘Jaws’ movie] they overexaggerated. A shark isn’t gonna do all of that.”
Kamari Black, NE Campus
“I really do think that they’re misunderstood mainly because of the fact that sharks do not target things just to attack them, they just see something moving… It’s just base instinct. They’re not directly trying to attack anybody. People just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Itzel Nava, NW Campus
“I would say yes, because there’s a lot of things that affect the environment they’re in right now. It’s not safe and not a comfortable environment, so maybe that affects how they interact.”
Rene Casarrubias, NE Campus
“They’re scary. Imagine you’re swimming in the water and all of a sudden you see a fin popping out of the water. They’re still like creatures. I think about them as tigers, you know? They’re the same level as tigers. They’re not really threatened … But they’ll still kill you.”
Matthew Adamson, NW Campus
“Yes, I think sharks are the unsung heroes of the ocean. They get a bad rep for eating people but they don’t. ‘Jaws’ is propaganda.”
Julie Nguien, TR Campus
“I find them misunderstood, but it’s also like, I don’t really like them either. It’s just scary, I guess just watching from the ‘Jaws’ [movie] itself, it made me have a new fear of the ocean.”
Amanda Robinson, NW Campus
“Yes, they’re thinking it’s an invasion of privacy and they’re not sure how we’re going to react to them or what we’re there to do. It’s like an uninvited guest.”