Students' Opinions About Violence

There have been many recent shootings in Toronto. I've asked students about their reactions to the shootings and their opinions about violence.

"It's ridiculous and there's no need for violence. Things could be solved without confrontation."
- Jonathan

"If there were more opportunities for jobs and education there would be less violence on the street."
- Daniel

"Violence is just stupid, you get nothing out of it. The shootings probably happen because there are too many guns. If you can, talk about your problems"
- Will

"I think that if anybody should get caught with a firearm, there should be a lengthy sentence.
We should try to get guns off the street."
- Alex D.

"I don't think using violence is an appropriate way to solve problems.
The perfect way to solve a problem is by talking and being honest."
- Maria

"Violence comes from anger, and when people snap, they don't think."
-Hamid

"It's sad to see people killing each other. Violence doesn't solve anything; it just makes things worse."
-Lisseth

"I think violence is horrible. Too many of the guns on the street aren't legally purchased.
They need to crack down with more gun control."
- David

Everyone seems to have the same opinion about violence and gun control. Personally, I don't think the government and police are doing enough about controlling weapons on the street. Compared to the United States, we're very lucky to live in Canada, but obviously guns are still a big issue.

The question I have to ask people who have used violence as a certain kind of therapy is, "Did using violence make you feel any different in the long run? Has violence accomplished anything positive?"

The people whom I have surveyed have very strong opinions about this issue.
We feel that we don't have the power to do anything about violence and the use of weapons. The one thing we can do is talk to someone who does have the power, but most of the time it seems very difficult. Luckily, our class had the chance.
MPP Michael Colle came in to talk to the students. He and almost everyone in the class shared the opinion: If there are more opportunities for jobs and education, there will be less violence. The government should do something about jobs for youth soon.

This issue got me thinking-what are people so angry about?
Why do they even think about violence as an answer? Is it a power issue? Do people feel powerful when they know someone's life is in their control? The Government needs to look deeper into these issues.

People tend to blame their problems on someone else. It's much easier than taking a stand and coping with their problems. The number one thing people need to do is learn how to be positive. Obviously, if something very traumatizing happens to someone, they are going to feel upset and angry. But letting yourself feel upset and angry forever won't help you. If anything, it's only going to hurt you in the long run.

Anger is a secondary emotion. When something upsetting happens, your first conscious or subconscious reaction is being upset. Anger gives you an adrenaline rush and will make you want to hit something or someone. If someone was to get you extremely angry, and you had a gun in your pocket, you might do something you would regret later. I think a great idea would be for the government to be more conscious of gun control and they should come up with a way of controlling firearms.

In the end, if we know why people resort to violence, and have better gun control, we might be able to solve the violence problem.

"I am a dreamer, but what's the alternative."
- Ovide Mercredi

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you
are."
- Kurt Cobain

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates loot on Treasure Island."
- Walt Disney

 

Great Quotes

"Life, hope, truth,
trust, faith, pride,
love, lust, pain,
hate, lies, guilt,
laugh, cry, live, die."
- Good Charlotte

"If we do it right and do the right thing the age of networked intelligence can be an age of unprecedented wealth, fairness, true democracy, and social justice."
- Don Tapscott

I AM
By Steve B.

I am not just another person
On planet earth
I am not one to put others through
Feelings of hurt
I do what I can and try
My best to not end up like all the rest
Know what I want, I know what
I need
Just as well as I know my first name is Steve.
I live on my own but not
All alone, which sucks because I still
Have to share the phone. I am very athletic
Trouble I try not to sweat it because
I'd
Like to make it past my one seven*
Now everyone has to watch what they say
Because apparently words is all it takes to leave
Someone slain. World peace would be nice
Freedom would be great but what will
Be, if it comes too late. If I had one wish
Guaranteed to come true it wouldn't be to be you
Because I am who I am
* 17th birthday

Poems and Literature

Untitled
By Kim

Cannot feel no more,
Forgot who I was before,
Not erased, the pain's misplaced
Behind some other door

Untitled
By Shoira

As days fly by to the moon I cry
At night.
I lay with the cunning of
A fox and the strength of a tiger
I stand up to this world as it takes
Twist and twirls
I suffer no more
when I learn to
Bend and mend from every descent
Into hate, lies and deceit
From the ash I creep at first on
My knees but never on my hands
Or with my head bowed to the ground
I will hold my head high for in my
Eyes there is strength, wisdom,
Knowledge, beauty, understanding.
Here I am standing naked to the world

Poems and Literature

Rock N' Roll
A speech by - Lawrence Park C.I. student.

Rock N' Roll, through the past 50 years has earned itself quite the reputation. This is due to the fact that its stars live in a world barely comparable to our own. I think it's fair to say that almost every person at some point, has wanted to be a rock star. I think it's also fair to say that for most, wanting to be a rock star had nothing to do with wanting to play guitar in front of thousands of people or write music. It had more to do with wanting to be rich, sleep with groupies, enjoy the excesses, enjoy the liberties and the freedom... enjoying the life that nothing but Rock N' Roll can give you.

Now this world in which rock stars reside, where society's morals do not apply and laws are simply suggestions, wasn't discovered. It was built. The foundation for this new world was laid by the youth. By teenagers looking for something new, something they could call their own, something... revolutionary. And, in 1954, they found it. Rock N'
Roll had arrived in the form of Elvis Presley.

Black music was the best music, sweat, blood, and tears went into it. It had heart and soul. But you can't sell what people won't buy. And in the 1950's America, you couldn't sell a black musician to a white public. Along came Elvis, the kids loved it. It was black music with a white face. All it needed now was for parents to disapprove. And it happened.

DJ Fred Cook played 30 seconds of, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on his show before stopping his record and describing it as "the worst piece of s--- [he had] ever heard." A critic from the Daily News said, "Popular music had reached its lowest depths in the grunt and groin antics of one Elvis Presley." The door was open now, and the next few rock stars I'll talk about helped to give Rock N' Roll the rebellious image it has.

By 1958, Chuck Berry had been to prison, become a legend, and one of Rock's first stars and was about to go back to prison. Berry having nearly started a riot in March of 1958 at one of his shows, was not popular with the law. So in 1959 when he was caught transporting a 14-year-old prostitute to St. Louis from El Paso (he claimed so she could work in his night club) he was given 3 years in prison. Though he was punished, it was not enough to protect the world from the rebellious allure of Rock N' Roll.

Artists in the sixties, Numbers, later to become The Who, were playing a show at the Railway Hotel. Pete Townsend accidentally broke his guitar after hitting it on the club's low ceiling. He was furious and began to destroy his guitar on stage in front of a stunned audience. This became a regular occurrence at their shows and helped to set them apart.

In 1967 a relatively unknown guitarist named Jimi Hendrix was playing at the Monterey Festival in California. He had a reputation in the UK as being wild and he had made the same impression on the American audience. After playing his set, he lay his guitar down on the stage. H e rain to the back of the stage and grabbed something. Everyone knew he was doing something but no one knew what. And then it happened, flames leapt from the guitar sending the crowd in to a shocked frenzy. Hendrix was infamous before he was famous.

Both Townsend and Hendrix helped to contribute to the image that rock and roll had created, namely, an image of being destructive and rebellious. The destruction wasn't limited to guitars or hotel rooms that were trashed after a night of drugs and alcohol. People were dying. Keith Moon, drummer for the Who, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Elvis, Bon Scott (the original singer for AC/DC), Sid Vicious, and too many others to name have all been victims of the world they helped build. While each artist's death is a tragedy, the artists helped contribute to the image Rock N' Roll has.

Like anything else, rock and roll's reputation will not survive without new stars finding their way into its world and contributing to its legend. Luckily there is no shortage. This is a list of some of the more recent rock stars who have made significant contributions to the rock and roll legend:

* The Red Hot Chili Peppers lost a member to the excesses of the lifestyle; he is remembered in the song "Under the Bridge".
* Axl Rose, in Guns N' Roses debut album, recorded himself having sex with his girlfriend. He's also had his fair share or fun-ins with the law. He'd been arrested dozens of times.
* Oasis have been banned from several airlines, a ferry service, deported from a country, been arrested countless times, and one of their members was investigated as a murder suspect.

So the world that the legends built appears, at the moment, to be in good hands. As long as people enjoy the taste of absolute freedom, the kind of freedom found only in the world of Rock N' Roll, Rock and Roll will keep its place as society's little window through which we can experience what would otherwise be only accessible to us though our dreams.

Poems and Literature

Bananas
An essay By Alex Y.

Of all fruits, bananas are surely the best. Ever since I can remember, I've always had them in my house. My mom loves them. She says they are one of the best snacks you can have. They're easy to peel, they're very nutritious and over all they are esthetically pleasing.

In grade eight I went to an art museum and every single painting of a bowl of fruit had a banana in it. Bananas have always been a basic fundamental part of our culture. So now, I'm going to list more reasons why I think bananas are the best fruit.

Bananas come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Most of them grow throughout the Equatorial region, Australia, places around South America, and in the Dominican Republic. The bananas that are grown in the Dominican Republic are called Plantains. They are small, red, and very sweet. They remind me of Mars Bars, which are a very sweet chocolate bar.

I'm sure you all know that bananas start out green, when they're very ripe they turn yellow. That's the best time to eat them. After that they start to form brown spots, then eventually turn completely brown. When they're brown, people sometimes make banana bread from them.

People also fry green bananas, which is considered to be a delicacy. They are baked when they're ripe, they are great for milkshakes and other desserts, and can be eaten frozen. Also, bananas provide homes to tarantulas.

Some reasons why bananas are so spectacular?...

* They're good for more than one use.
* Bananas are very nutritious. They have been considered a breadfruit for many centuries because they have consistency and carbohydrates. Sodium potassium plays a big part in controlling your nervous system and bananas are great sources of potassium. An interesting fact is that we, humans, share fifty per cent of our genes with bananas. Knowing this, I feel I can relate on many levels to the banana. They also have a source of vitamins A, B6, C, and K.
* Thirdly, bananas are also great sources of amusement. They are so funny looking, and the British pronounce the word stretching out the second "a".
* There is also a television program aimed at young children called "Bananas in Pajamas". It's a very educational show, using two bright, yellow bananas wearing pajamas as the main characters. Kids will be attracted to this and will learn from the show. And what better fruit would you use for the main characters than bananas? Who really wants to see two ugly apples or oranges prance around their house in their P.J's?

For these reasons bananas are superior to all other fruits, and for this we should treat them with respect. If we don't treat them with respect, we may end up going bananas!

Poems and Literature

Marriage
By Stephanie

What is marriage? Marriage is a "holy" union between a man and a woman. Or so, that's what we are taught to think. I believe that a homosexual couple should be able to marry, and have the same rights that a heterosexual couple would receive in the sacrament of matrimony.

Whether it be a homosexual or heterosexual couple, the couple should be able to be united in matrimony if that's what is wanted by both parties. Homosexual partners shouldn't be restricted to non-marriage unions due to the fact that the government and /or church deem such marriages not right.

Homosexuals are having a hard time getting the right to marry. Why?
Homosexuals are people too and they deserve the right to get married and have their unity be recognized as legal everywhere. Regardless of whether heterosexual or homosexual, all couples should be allowed the same rights, if married.

Furthermore, in June of 2004, Ontario made it possible for homosexuals to marry and have their unions be recognized. In Vermont, the government went one step further, becoming the first U.S. state to allow homosexual couples to receive the benefits of marriage. Homosexual unions gain the ability to make medical decisions on behalf of their partner, have inheritance rights, enjoy insurance coverage, and claim child custody as well as other rights.

Also, as of Wednesday February 4th, 2004, Massachusetts' top court told lawmakers that anything but full fledged marriage for same sex couples would make them "second-class citizens". The state's Supreme Judicial Court, who's landmark ruling last year struck down a ban on same sex marriage, said in an advisory that the state constitution mandates marriages for homosexuals, not civil unions. State lawmakers were actually pushing for a law that would create Vermont-style civil unions- the parallel form of marriage. However, Massachusetts' Attorney General, Tom Reilly, said he would comply with the ruling.

And Finally in Key West, Florida they do allow homosexual couples to engage in the sanctity of marriage, however, this is only a civil union and therefore it is not legal nor is it recognized outside of Key West. It is recognized and legal in Key West. So even though, Vermont, Massachusetts and Ontario, made such a leap forward, by letting homosexual couples marry and have rights, there are still some places that deem it not right and unacceptable.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that, homosexuals are people too.
They deserve to have the right to be married. After all your mailman, your son/daughter, your boss, any of them could be a homosexual. How would you feel then? Maybe if you knew a homosexual couple who married or wanted to marry, you would see things differently.
*This essay is dedicated to my dear friends Scott and Rob, who went the distance to Key West, to be united. Love You Both.*