Community as Issue Essay 2 (Final Draft)

Massimo Sarracino

10/5/14

Professor Young

Engw 1100

Community as Issue Essay 2 (Final Draft)

Taking Action

“Do you hear that noise dude?” “Yeah, it sounds like it’s coming from that house down the block.” says my friend Mike. “Thats the house that all the high school freshmen hang out.” I replied. “Thats a bad scene.” This problem has started about 5 years ago when I was attending Roosevelt Elementary School. There is always a group of kids that like to hang around the town park or at the basketball courts drinking or smoking marijuana. So in my community of Lyndhurst there is a problem with underage drinking and drug use,The Lyndhurst Chief of Police should have a security guard patrol the perimeter of the basketball court and the town park before someone gets hurt and it is too late. It would help to keep the delinquents out of the area and make people feel safe. It would also help kids get more focused on school and get a better education. Overall the community must come together and take action on this situation.

The township of Lyndhurst New Jersey is just like any other, full of people and schools. But the one true epidemic that is being ignored rather than solved is the problem with underage drinking and drug use. There are not many people in the town that are a part of this group but the few that are are reckless. They will do anything for attention and have no regards for anybody around them. This is not something you want your hometown to be known for.

The people of the community must come together and fight this issue. It must start with the people of Lyndhurst going forward to the town with this issue. The citizens of Lyndhurst should have a petition started to vote for a security guard to be put in the various locations.That is the first step in resolving this problem. Then things will go back to normal without drug dealing going on and crimes being committed. We will have a safe community once again.

In Valerie Kinloch’s article, Khaleeq is talking about how his is going to struggle documenting in the Frederick Douglass Projects because it is filled with “people who don’t seem to care, who throw paper on the ground, who sell drugs, who just hang out.” says Khaleeq. Khaleeq feels like he will have a hard time getting video footage of the Frederick Douglass Projects because it doesn't look very appealing and is full of people that don't care. It would not be a place where you would want to be. The issue in my community is very similar to the one shown in the article. Both Lyndhurst and the Frederick Douglass Projects have a problem with drugs and people loitering or hanging out. This shows me how other places around the world relate to my communities issue. In my community it feels like a place where nobody wants to be or be seen, I'm sure it is very similar to being in the Frederick Douglass Projects.

The Lyndhurst Police Department must take action and enforce stricter laws and higher penalty for breaking the law in order to get the kids in my community to act responsibly.This will not only take the kids off of the streets and make people feel better but it would be the best thing in making the community a better place to live. The police officers need to monitor the areas where the kids are drinking illegally and doing drugs and start taking action on the law. These kids will never learn their lesson until one is given to them. That would be the best thing to do to fix this everlasting problem and to help kids get back onto the right path.

Furthermore, cracking down on this problem will help the kids stay more focused on school. If they are always on the streets and hanging out they are not concentrated on their school work at all, especially when they are drinking and doing drugs. The delinquents that loiter around the town doing these illegal activities are doing very poorly in school and even dropping out. It is not too late, the kids can still get help and be put back into school to further their education. But it is up to the Lyndhurst Chief of Police to make the executive decision to put an end to the communities problem. 

In conclusion, my community of Lyndhurst has a growing problem with underage drinking and drug use, police need a security guard around the perimeter of the basketball court and the town park and teach the kids breaking the law a lesson. The community should get together as a whole to get the attention of the police department. The Lyndhurst Police Department then needs to set forth stricter laws and greater punishments to break these kids of their bad habits. This would lead to them going back to school and furthering their educations.There will hopefully be a day that the delinquents will be removed from loitering and doing illegal activities around the town.

Works Cited

Kinloch, Valerie. “Harlem, Art, and Literacy and Documenting

‘Harlem Is Art’/’Harlem as Art’”

Teaching Developmental Writing Ed.

Susan Naomi Bernstein. fourth Edition

Boston Bedford, 2013. 147-160

Print.