Where

Quondell Johnson

Bl.1

Sep, 29, 2013

English 1

Ms. Mckoy

                                                                                                 Where

The mind is open to many things

But that door isn’t opened all the way

My friends say I’m cool

They do anything for me

They got my back only if I rep who I B

I know they show love

When I fight

I just hope I live another night

I go to school with them everyday

But I don’t even think I know the way

They hang with me in the neighborhood

But does anyone know we’re not up to good?

I think to myself what would my mother think?

And then I puff away that thought but is that really me?

I been many places

I have seen many scenes

But I still haven’t found what I need

I had people talk to me

But are those things right

I don’t know if I have to run the streets at night

I have been mean to people

I use to show love

I know that angers the one above

I think of my grandparents looking down on me

I know they are disgusted by what they see

Should I be the one I be?

Or should I change to a better me?

Are these people really my friends?

Will they be there when my life ends?

Are these homies real with me?

Are they what I really need?

Who’s going to answer my call for help?

I don’t even know my self

I am older

And a lot more wiser

But to learn my way is my desire

Why Gangs Are Important

Quondell Johnson

Bl. 1

Ms. Mckoy

November, 13, 2013

                                                            Why Gangs Are Important

            Gangs are one f the biggest problems in America; most people don’t realize how gangs negatively effect America. People look at gangs as a whole or a unit, but most usually don’t look at each individual gang member in America. Because gangs are such a big problem in the United states, there is an increase in the crime rates, decrease in the education that people receive, and an increase in the amount of money the U.S spends; the issue of gang violence is hurting our economy more than anyone would ever imagine.

            The article “Gang Violence and The Street Smart Nurse” shows an increase of transgressions in America could cause the economy to become worse and progressively harm the people of the country. Many parts of the United States are crowded with gang members, but more importantly the schools in different parts of the country. One of the results of gang violence that has increase the amount of money spent on investigations on crimes such as, store hold ups, drive-by’s, and even the time spent could be considered a resulting factor of the gang crime pace in America.

            In the article “Percentage of students 12-18 who reported that gangs were present at school” it's shown supported how there’s decrease in the education of students across the U.S has hurt the students but also effected the amount of education that a student receives. Education could be lost by a number of things; for example; schools have drills they practice periodically, but when you add drive-by drills to the drills that are actually appropriate then it brings the issue to a different perspective. If gang issues were under control then the amount of time spent trying to show a student how to hide from a drive-by could actually be time a student could be learning in order to maintain a good grade.

            In“ How Gangs Took Central America” explains how the U.S is in debt; violence from gangs isn’t helping this issue decrease the amount of spending which is hurting the people in the nation. When money is spent on something that could have been prevented, this makes it tough for the people that actually have to pay taxes for government funding in order for them to be able to help them pay for the problems that were caused by another person. If the government ever wants our economy to get better, then it would be a good idea to try harder to put an end to the things that have been helping cause it to be bad such as gang violence.

            Gangs are a serious matter and should be handled like so. Many problems result in gang violence and can usually be solved by doing things to prevent gangs from doing certain things. Many people hear about gangs, but usually are not aware of the reality of how they really do affect citizens and the country. As more crimes are committed the hope of overcoming gangs is going to be slim, unless we do something now to help fix the issue.

letter to editor

Quondell Johnson Early College High School 2050 Hwy. 501 Conway, SC 29526 Quonjhn@gmail.com The sun News, Letter to the editor P.O. Box 406, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578 Dear Editor-in-chief: I am writing to educate people about gangs, and also possibly persuade gang prevention programs to change by being more strict, and reaching out more. This being said, I do understand that some people don’t want to join gangs, and that they search for things that feel right in the wrong places. Gangs affect the entire nation. When you think about the fact that there are at least 400,000 teens in gangs, the issue is looked at differently. When I thought about gangs I use to think it was just a group of people that like to cause trouble. Now that I am educated on the issue I actually see the danger of gangs and how 15,500 deaths recorded could make a difference in what we know as life; as well as, me experiencing the death of a close friend. Sincerely, Quondell Johnson If you have any other concerns on my letter please contact the early college at: (843)-349-3131

Gang violence documentary

https://www.wevideo.com/view/123554482

Mural.ly

https://mural.ly/#/quondell/1379892424544

Better or Worse

Quondell Johnson

English 2

Ms. Mckoy

Bl. 1

September, 2, 2013

 

                                                           Better or Worse

 

                  Gang violence, a word often used, but never really educated about. When the word gang comes up in a conversation, no one thinks about the fact that the “Helping Gang Youth” website states “400,000 or more teenagers in gangs”. People also don't consider the fact that the website also states there are “approximately 15,500 gang related deaths that are known in the US”. People who are in gangs are often looked at as cool, bad, or even lame depending on the situation of which a person decides to be apart of a gang. Gang violence has been recognized by the US, but are the organizations that are working to prevent it actually working; if not should there be more strict precautions made to possibly decrease the number of gangs and gang members in America?

Mike was a kid that everybody knew to be the quiet kid. When I first met Mike, he was a lot different from other people which to me was a good thing. When I started to get to know him a little bit better I soon noticed that he didn't like the fact that people never really talked to him. I tried many times to convince him to be himself, and less trouble will come to him, then I said that if he decides to try to fit in that there’s a bigger risk of trouble. Over time my advice didn’t seem to have an effect on Mike, because he started acting a little different, plus I saw him talking to people that were always known to hang out in groups. Though I was still friends with Mike, he gradually started to change more and more over time. His mom had gotten him into some kind of program that was suppose to keep kids out of gang, and off the street. After that, his attitude towards things started to change, and the way people thought of him did as well. It wasn't until one Monday morning that I found out that Mark had been shot and killed while in a gang fight. My friend was gone, and I felt like I couldn’t do anything that would’ve helped him make the right decision. I thought to my self “did this program he was in help at all?”. I then searched to see what this program actually did to help the youth, and by looking at this I knew something was wrong.

My previous experience with gang violence has led me to see if the programs are actually decreasing gang and gang member activity. While researching using the “FBI 2011 gang surveys” website I found that “SC has at least 105 gangs compared to NC which has at least 106 gangs”. I also took note that there are only “two federal gang task forces in South Carolina, and only 3 in North Carolina”. Also throughout this website there were a few gangs that seemed to be stand out in South Carolina such as the Bloods, crips, MS-13, Folk nation, and the Vice Lords. Further research also led me to finding that some of these gangs have active members in certain branches in the military. According to the FBI 2011 gang surveys I also found out “Bloods have been known to be in army, army reserves, coast guard, marines, and navy while MS-13 members have been known to join the army, marines, and navy”. While exploring the “Helping gang youth” website and the “National gang center” website I noticed in the years “2000- 2007 that there was an average of 750,000 gang members in the U.S., while in 2011 there was approximately 30,000 more”. Even though, from the year “1996 to 2003 the number of gangs had decreased by nearly 10,000 which left the U.S. with about 20,100 gangs”. Then from the year “2003 to 2011 the gang population had increased by at least 9,000”.While researching gangs I found that “80% of gang members studied are male, and 75% of those males are teenagers under the age of eighteen”. This information could actually give the United States a wake up call to what they need to do to decrease these numbers of gangs and gang members while they are still increasing.

I feel that if the U.S. is actually more strict on their gang programs made for each state, that they can actually start to lower the number of gangs and prevent any future gang members. Information such as this could also give anyone a different out look towards gangs, and could even lead a member to a better decision. So if the issue of gangs get more educated on and more attended then we could possibly stop the increasing population of gangs and gang members.