Teen Violence

In an April 1999 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, nearly 70% of adults said that a school shooting was either "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to happen in their communities. This poll indicates that many think that teenage violence is a significant problem in the United States. Youth violence is an ongoing, astonishingly persistent problem. There are many reasons why teens are expressing their feelings with violence, and it has to be stopped before it gets out of control.

According to Dr. Catherine Johnson, a criminal analyst, 220 violent criminal acts have taken place on school property in the U.S. since 1992. That is about 37 violent deaths per year. These statistics prove that students are not as safe as they once were in their school environments.

There are many possible reasons why teens become violent. Things such as entertainment, high school cliques, needs for attention, and family problems are all influential matters, which can have a strong effect on how teens live their lives and grow into adulthood. Entertainment, such as music, movies, and videogames, can all promote violence and teach teens how not to handle their everyday struggles and challenges. High school cliques contribute to the ongoing battle all teens face, peer pressure. Cliques make students feel the need to fit into a certain group and act a certain way, cliques make students afraid to be who they are. Sometimes, students commit violent acts because they need attention from friends or family. Other times, teens that have been abused or neglected as children resort to violent lifestyles.

What is being done for these troubled teens? Across the nation, schools are developing after school activities to keep students out of trouble, parents and educators are trying harder to communicate with their teens, and anger management and conflict resolution workshops are being formed.

Although the recent acts of violence among high school teenagers has devastated and frightened many, some good has come from it. People have come together as communities and as a nation. One man, Hal, wrote a moving