Every day there are reports in your newspaper of terrible crimes that young people commit. Readers are often shocked by the seriousness of these crimes relative to the person’s age. With this publicity, youth are given the stereotype of being troublemakers. Recently, numerous violent crimes have occurred in the Everett School District and have received a great amount of media attention. As student leaders of Everett High School we are saddened by the egregious acts that our peers take part in. In defense of our age group, however, the percentage of students who are tearing down our community is minute compared to many young people who take part in such activities that better our community.
Although it is easy to focus on the drama that occurs throughout our schools, overlooked the most is the amount of students that perform positive acts in our society. As we walk through the hallways at Everett High School it is not drug deals that we consistently notice. It is the great efforts of students who go out of their way to make Everett a better place. From food drives to senior citizen dinners to mentoring of younger students, the impact that we make is far from the stereotype that we receive as teenagers. As members of a clubs like DECA, leadership, athletics and many other extra curricular activities, we are accompanied by many of our peers in the good works that we partake in.
We ask you as a community to look at us as students in a different light. Please don’t overlook our achievements only to see a few of our peer’s mistakes. Just like every other human being, we are not all alike. So when we walk in your store, think twice before you assume we are there to shoplift, and when we are on our cellular phones, it is only a very small percent of us who are making drug deals. Take us for who we are and give us the respect that we deserve.
President, Everett High School DECA
Secretary, Everett High School DECA
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