Gang Leader for a Day #2

Sudhir was a nervous wreck while entering the projects.  He didn't know what to expect and had heard a lot of stories about the crimes committed in the projects.  When he went into the lobby, he was finding his way through a large crowd of black men from teenagers all the way to forty or so.  There was an awful smell of urine, alcohol and drugs as well.  One of the men asked Sudhir where he was going and he told him the numbers of the apartments and the black man responded, nobody lives there.  Sudhir did not feel like challenging the man when he knew he was lying because no one from the projects likes talking to community workers.  He then headed to the next building where he was met by a small group of guys drinking beer and playing cards.  The men thought he was a Mexican from the rival gang (Latin Kings) and were about to assault him when J.T. stepped in.  J.T. was one of the leaders of the Black Kings, a notorious gang in Chicago that sold crack all over Chicago, and in the projects.  After they got to talking Sudhir told him about the surveys that he was supposed to ask the inhabitants of the projects but J.T. said there would be no need for that.  They sat and talked for hours before Sudhir went home.  While he was at home Sudhir couldn't get his mind off of what he had just experienced.  At five in the morning he headed back to the projects, this time with some beer, to hang out with his new friends.  A bond was formed and J.T. liked Sudhir as well as respected him.  Over the next year or so, the Black Kings would show Sudhir around the city of Chicago and take him in.  All of the young blacks now knew and respected Sudhir since he was J.T.'s friend.  Sudhir would see countless assaults and non-stop crack dealing but it was in the best interest of his graduate sociology class at University of Chicago.  Truth is, he liked hanging with the gang.  There was a lot of structure and J.T. was the boss of the projects.  J.T. said, "Everyone is in on everything here" referring to the projects.  Anyone that was using the projects as a safehouse would pay a fee.  Any prostitutes hanging around the projects would pay a fee.  This may sound unfair but everyone was protected by the gang and everyone respected J.T. Without the structure of the gang all havoc would break loose. 
J.T. is moving up the ladder in the gang and is hoping to expand their profits by increasing the amount of crack they buy.  Sudhir knows this and is fed up of witnessing dozens of crimes on a daily basis.

Renovations

Although I am usually one to disagree with any increase on taxes, I think in this situation it is beneficial for the school, and the community to go through with these renovations.  There is no doubt that Deerfield is an impressive school academically. It is in the top five in the state behind only Magnet schools.  The teachers obviously know what they are doing and things seem to be going well at Deerfield and Highland Park.  However, the facilities at Deerfield are weak.  The heating and air conditioning is from the stone age and it needs renovating.  Deerfield's athletic facilities are also pathetic.  To start off the PERC is tiny and the workout room next to it is somewhat empty.  The football field drains right onto the baseball field which cancelled some of our games last year.  Also the field house would be and important addition to the athletic facilities.  There are simply too many positives to these renovations.  If we hold out this year, then we would simply have to so the exact same thing 1,2 or 10 years from now.  We are all struggling with the economy but in order to bring more people into the town, our facilities need to be top notch just like our academics.  

Gang Leader for a Day #1

Gang Leader for a Day, written by Indian born Sudhir Venkatesh, is a book that chronicles Sudhir's entry into a gang through a sociology project.  After getting his bachelor's degree at UCSD, Sudhir went to the University of Chicago for his masters in sociology.  Since he arrived Sudhir was fascinated with the social scene of the city of Chicago.  He interviewed an old black man, Charlie, who explained to him how the city operates and the issues between blacks and whites.  Charlie said that there are two types of white people, one that will beat you up if you come in their neighborhood, and the other won't invite you in.  This is interesting because it seems as though there is no love between the black and white race at all in inner-city Chicago. Charlie has lived in Chicago all his life and even after the Civil Rights Movement he has seen very little change.  Why is this so?
After his interview, Charlie tells Sudhir what neighborhoods to stay away from but Sudhir is too intrigued to stay away from these areas.  After gathering his interview materials at 11:00 PM, he heads to the south- projects.  Predictions?

Death Penalty

According to the facts of the case, I belive Clifford Boggess' execution was justified.  He brutally murdered two innocent men simply for their cash.  Although he went under somewhat of a transformation through Christianity, I did not see a change in him. He showed little to no remorse for the murders and said he wasn't after the family's forgiveness.  If I were to murder someone, I would have remorse and not just hide behind my faith.  Also, his newfound faith can't be the reason that keeps him from being exectued.  Boggess took two lives and for taht he owes his life. 
Boggess's conversion to Christianity was legitimate but it doesn't change the fact that he is a murderer.  He used his religion to make it seem like he is a changed man when truly he is not.  If he was a true Christian he wouldn't have taken two lives from this Earth for a small amount of money. 
I think Boggess went under a very slight change on Death Row and that was simply accepting his fate and learning how to live with it.  He felt little to no remorse for his crime and didn't care about the families of the men that he killed.  Clifford Boggess's conversion was somewhat of a cover up and his crimes were too great to consider anything but an execution.
In my debate I was a prosecuting attorney against Lesley Gosches.  I did not know that he was sent to the chamber twice and I couldn't imagine what he went through.  This is a case of psychological cruelty.  One Lesley accepted that he was going to die and was at peace, he is given more time.  This would take a large enough toll if it happened once but twice can be very psycholigically destructive.  I believe that America should continue using capital punishment as a means to deter other crimes.  However, to be sentenced to death, there must be substantial evidence and or the defendent admitting that he was the murderer.

Bullying

What strikes you about the people who are doing the bullying and the people who are being bullied?  What can and should be done to stop this?  Does technology make it easier or harder to bully people today?
After reading the articles, I realized that there are no restrictions to bullies or gets bullied.  All anyone needs is a small reason and a group of friends that agree to magnify the bullying.  In the article there was a pretty girl who was bullied by a boy and a group of girls for dating a varsity hockey player. This type of girl is typically never bullied and it surprised me because she came off as innocent.  Other examples included issues like weight, race, and homosexuality.  Although "popular kids" may bully the majority of the time on the "nerds" or "outcasts" there is no standard for bullying. 
Strict consequences should in place for anyone who decides to bully so bullying can slow down.  Bullying will never stop but with rules in place it can be limited.  Also, schools should host publicc speakers who have been effected by bullying can show students the devastating effects.  Public speaking is one of the better ways to get through to students even though most of the cases are extreme and rare. 
Technology makes bullying much easier to bully people today.  Primarily through facebook and twitter, kids can be targeted very easily.  It is almost easier to spread rumors and tease on the internet than in person. 

High Schools and Drug Testing

High Schools should have the right to drug test athletes or any students that participate in an after school program.  The zero-tolerance rule is in place or all students at our high school.  Athletes shouldn't be participating in these illegal activities during the season.  Drug tests should be done randomly from the Mathletes to the Football players.
            Sam Rogers

7 Days in September

"7 Days in September" brought a new sense of perspective that I was not used to seeing.  When I think of 9/11 I think of the news coverage and the shot of the World Trade Centers smoking.  This film really shows how devastating the effects of the crashes were from the ground up.  The scene that stuck with me was the argument between the American Muslim women and the New Yorker outside the Mosque.  The New Yorker was devastated from 9/11 and took it out on an innocent Muslim simply because she shared the same religion as the terrorists.  After thinking about this conversation, I realized that I probably would have reacted the same way.  If I saw my friends and fellow citizens of New York suffer and die because of religious fanatics I would have had the same type of anger as the New Yorker.  I wouldn't have the same feeling now but at the time it was acceptable.