Gang Violence at Harper High School Essay Example

Living in the neighborhood poses a lot of dangers to children. Taking a case of Harper High School, the learning institution is overly exposed to gang violence that disrupts the running of the school. The type of gangs that are found to be affecting the students of Harper High School includes the J-Town that owns the block between 69th and Loomis. Jordan, a new student at Harper High, openly confessed to the Deputy Principal Chad Adams of his affiliation with J-Town (This American Life a). The membership of a gang is assigned by default concerning one's residence; for instance, the children from 72nd and Hermitage belong to the S-Sub, whether they like it or not. The membership of such a gang means that the students in the group are involved with criminal engagements such as stealing (This American Life b). However, some cliques just get concerned with having lunch together and providing company to each other while heading home, without any violence accorded to their names (This American Life a).

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Harper High School is placed in a position where it is hard for the institution to avoid gang violence in daily operations. This is because the students from the school get to witness the murder of their friends in gang violence. The remorse in the students builds up to vengeance that makes the children develop violent tendencies. Such a case is of Thomas who is keen to carry out revenge against the murder of his friend Shakaki (This American Life b). The school's social worker, Mrs. Smith, has to find ways of interacting with Thomas to understand what he is going through. Moreover, Ben Calhoun points out that retaliation shootings are a factor in the safe environment of the school where parents and students are seen to be shot after while on their way home (This American Life a).

To address gang violence, some public policies can be implemented. For instance, Principal Sanders suggests that more parents and teachers should volunteer towards providing security for the students, especially during the school dance (This American Life a). Most parents and teachers had relatives who were associated with the police service; hence this would act as an excellent supplement to the school's security systems. The security parameters at the school's entrances should also be beefed up. These parameters would be able to reduce the incidences of guns and knife stabbings through the setting up of a metal detector. It should also be a requirement for non-students of the institution to produce their identity documents when accessing the facility (This American Life b). This measure would go in helping the school reduce the cases of outsiders' interferences within the school walls.

Works Cited

This American Life a. 487: Harper High School - Part One - The American Life. 2019. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/487/transcript.

This American Life b. 488: Harper High School - Part Two - The American Life. 2019. thisamericanlife.org/488/transcript.