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?