The recent decision not to have police officers in East Providence schools was cheering, but this issue will rise again. As a student at East Providence High School, I must say that I disagree with police presence.

Perhaps having officers in our schools would curb violence, but at what cost? The sight of an officer might indeed lessen violence in the halls, but only because students would fear repercussions. This treats the symptoms, not the root cause. It doesn't make students feel less violent; it merely represses their actions in schools.

Are the children of our nation so dangerous and unpredictable that they must be monitored constantly? Are they more dangerous than the adults? Do we want to convey to the children of our nation that simply because they are under the age of 18, they are all assumed deadly criminals? If one is treated as a criminal, one is more apt to become a criminal.

At what point would an officer in the school react to violence? When the violence is taking place? Do we really need cross-fire in these already deadly situations? Would the police officer take action under the mere threat of violence, when it's being talked or written about? What of the case in which not only one boy but also his brother were arrested due to violent content in an essay? This could be one more step to an America where freedom of speech is ignored. What's next? How many steps will it take our nation before it reaches an Orwellian horror-world in which thought police monitor us all?

No, it's not wise to sweep this issue under the rug, to ignore warning signs and hope that it will all go away, but neither is this the solution. Putting such a glaring and reactionary spotlight on the issue may in fact escalate it.

Police may curb some acts of violence, but how many? One more authority figure wouldn't effect a student who cares not for consequences. Those acts of violence that are fully premeditated and planned would surely plan for the officers' presence. We don't need a new way to punish and control. We need to find the roots of this issue and irradiate them. Before the tragedy at Columbine, school shootings were minimal. Columbine, in a twisted way, made it somehow 'alright'. It blazed this bloody trail and made us react harshly to our youth. We need to find a way to return to the way things used to be.

It is a tragic world in which we forget that most of our youth are good kids who wouldn't think of being violent. It is a sad world in which we treat them ass as the violent, wretched, lowest common denominator. Is this what we call civilization? The youth of today is the adult population of tomorrow. How we shape them effects the future. They shouldn't be forced to learn in glorified jails. Keep cops out of our schools.

~Back to main~

~© 2000 Animonique~