Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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JUVENILE DELINQUENCY-A GLARING SOCIAL PROBLEM by BRUCE QUINT One of the most glaring domestic problems of our time is that of juvenile delinquency. Yet os conspicuous os this grove issue is, careful investigation will prove that very little has been done to counteract and correct it. It seems very strange indeed that a country so advanced and civilized as ours would let such evil con- ditions exist. Now that this problem, which is found in most large cities, is so out of hand we must try to solve it. In the first place, a juvenile delinquent, as the name implies, is a youthful offender or criminal. Many reasons have been advanced as the outstanding cause of juvenile delinquency. Actually, delinquency varies with different cases, and hence it is impossible to establish a set cause for it, but rather we can attribute its prevalence through- out the country on such a large scale to several under- lying causes and laxities on the part of parents and cities. Just as in any contagious disease, this vicious evil has reached the stage where something drastic must be done, or this country will face a period detrimental to social progress. Before we make any resolutions or decisions of an analytical nature, the problem must first be dissected to learn its chief causes. The most numerous causes of juvenile delinquency, perhaps, can be found in the home. Any child who comes from a broken home or from one where habitual arguments ar drunkeness prevails is quite likely to become a delinquent. All of these conditions lead to the same result. Because the child can ' t stand his life at home, he turns to the streets for seclusion. His home now becomes just a place to eat and sleep. The chief result is that his character is farmed on the street instead of in the home. Because the child has no sense of security, he turns to youthful gangs or slippery characters for protection. By this time he is well on his way to becom- ing a delinquent. Still another cause for delinquency is the lack of op- portunities for students of nonacademic backgrounds and inclinations in our school systems. If the student reaches the paint where he feels his school offers him exactly nothing, he will undoubtedly leave. Anything seems more alluring to him than the dull monotony of a school course from which he reaps no benefit. At this time he decides to terminate his school days and becomes a truant, thus starting his life as a delinquent. Regardless of how you feel on this controversial issue, it is safe to say that some comic books, radio programs, and television shows corrupt the minds and thoughts of younger children. They are so influenced by many of these factors that they actually apply some of these criminal actions. Whether you believe it or not, many children idolize characters such as Willie, The Actor , Sutton. Many of these cheap radio thrillers so terrorize younger children that they are unable to sleep nights. All of these factors occupy children ' s minds with crime and in some cases, are damaging to their health. From the slums of the cities comes a very serious prob- lem in juvenile delinquency — namely tha.t of gangs. The members of these gangs who usually come from poor, inconspicuous parents feel that they have nothing to lose by turning to crime. To some the lust for easy money and the dream of becoming a crime czar are too tempt- ing for them to endure. Still others band together in gangs for protection, trying to eliminate their feeling of insecurity. They depend upon crime as a livelihood and disgrace the larger cities of the United States with their savageness and brutality. No matter what their reason for banding together, all lead to the same inevitable road — a life of crime. These are some of the causes of juvenile delinquency — the most flagrant ones in any case. They all create problems which involve law enforcement. It is helpful to understand the evils brought about by delinquency before the problem is further discussed. Once a person becomes a delinquent he is associated with crime and criminals. Crimes such as gang warfare, drug addiction, drunkeness, robbery, beatings, and even murder flourish among delinquents. All of these actually fit into a chronological pattern. Gang warfare is prev- alent among various delinquent bands, for in the under- world only the toughest survive. Any delinquent who is a member of a powerful gang usually has a false sense of superiority and attempts to exhibit it by drinking and taking dope. In his twisted mind he believes that people actually idolize and respect his actions. When this stage is reached, he has become morally callous, and in order to obtain money for his expensive type of living, he turns to any type of crime as a livelihood. Thus it is easy to see all of the evils o delinquent can bring about and how they disgrace the reputation of a city. At this point it may be well to consider what some progressive cities have done to counteract this evil. There are also excellent methods which have been devised for the future. Perhaps the most effective way of reducing delin- quency is to make sure that these crimes are not com- mitted again by these youthful offenders. The best way to do this is through the juvenile courts in our country. This type of court gives the delinquent a fairer chance and a better attitude toward the law. Before the days of juvenile courts the young criminals in our country were sentenced to jail terms with hardened, vicious pris- oners. When the delinquents were freed after serving their prison sentences, they were worse than ever. But now the juvenile court has corrected this. This type of court is run by a judge who talks privately with the boy, his parents, and his friends to obtain all possible informa- tion before reaching a just decision. By having a clearer and more sympathetic look at the problem, the judge is in a better position to render a helpful verdict for the youth which will give him a second chance. Many cities are striving to combat juvenile delinquency through modern methods. New York City contains the largest slum area in the world. This progressive city, however, has done much to eliminate the existing eye- sores. Furthermore through the Crime Prevention Bureau of New York City the law enforcement agencies are trying to establish friendly relationships with the children while keeping in close contact with the home. One of the greatest curbs to juvenile delinquency in New York is P. A. L. or the Police Athletic League. Working in conjunction with the police department, P. A. L. offers all types of recreational opportunities for the children supervised by experienced instructors. These are the big reasons why New York leads in reducing juvenile delinquency. Another city bent on destroying juvenile delinquency is Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland is reputed to have one of the finest court systems for handling juvenile delinquents in our country. There too, tremendous public play- grounds are provided and tournaments are sponsored in which the children participate as a part of their recrea- tional program. If juvenile delinquency is to be elim- |24J

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i t then follows the school, the Hitler Youth, and military training. We don ' t let him go, and when adolescence is past, the Arbeitsfront (or work program) takes him again and does not let him go till he dies, whether he likes it or not. In Russia a child of grammar school age learns pa- triotic poems and slogans. Military training begins in the eighth grade. Then come the Young Pioneers or the Young Communist League. The minds of the children ore saturated with propaganda about the great Soviet Union and the capitalist war-mongers. A seven-year old Russian girl, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, replied, A Red Army nurse and help fight the fascists who surround our country . The main difference between Fascism and Communism is that although the Fascists use force and militarism, they are direct about it; the Communists, however, prefer the spy system. They are unscrupulous and unpredictable. What can we do to protect ourselves and our country from this menace? We must put as much effort into improving and building up Democracy as the Communists put into tearing it down. Most of us believe that our way of life is the best on earth. We do not live in eternal fear of being spied on, arrested, or killed. Our police forces are for the protec- tion, not the persecution, of citizens. We ore not continuolly bombarded with propaganda, because, here in America the newspapers, the radio and television stations, and the movie studios ore not owned and operated by the government, but by private citizens. We can listen to or read anything we like, and from that, form our own opinions. Our educational system is set up, not for the purpose of teaching children to think in military terms, but to teach them fundamental facts and their application. We believe that the most important thing is to teach children how to think, not what to think. Recently there have been investigatians of high school and college teachers and their alleged affiliations with the Communist Party. Our Bill of Rights gives everyone the right of freedom of speech; and educators are jealous of their academic freedom — the freedom to seek the truth. But does that mean the right to teach Communist doctrine which aims to overthrow our democratic institu- tions and enslave us all? Should we expel all teachers with Communist tendencies and those who take refuge in the Fifth Amendment, or should we allow them to continue teaching and jeopardize the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow? Or is there a middle road? The people must decide and, in deciding, guard against violating any of our fundamental rights as guaranteed by our Constitution. Certainly, these rights, which were gained through the sacrifice of many Americans and are now being preserved by the sacrifice of many more, are not to be treated lightly. Voting is both the duty and the privilege of every citizen. If we sit back and say, My vote doesn ' t count , we are leaving public offices open to men who are inter- ested, not in serving the people they represent, but in personal gain. We must each do our part in making Democracy work. For Democracy must begin with the individual and work up through the community, the state, to the national government. If the public becomes ap- athetic and the federal government is required to do the work of the state or the town, we will no longer have a democracy, but a bureaucracy. Therefore voting and encouraging friends and neighbors to do likewise is one step toward safeguarding our way of life. Cooperation is also a vital factor. If individuals can ' t learn to cooperate, how can we expect whole nations to work together? If we ore asked to work on a community project, we should do it willingly and well. Trial by jury, one of our greatest democratic institu- tions, will be in danger if people continue to beg off jury duty. Thus, taking an active part in the government of our own community is also very important. We should keep informed about current events and conditions by reading facts, and not by listening to those who spread propaganda and those who continuously com- plain about matters and never offer any constructive suggestions. Above all, we should be always alert and ready to defend and protect our country and the rights that are ours. In the words of Thomas Paine: — These are the times that try men ' s souls . . . Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this con- solation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too. lightly; it is dearness only that gives every- thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. CLASS DAY SPEAKERS PROPHECY Edward Sklarz Grace Matheson GIFTS TO BOYS Patricia Cogswell Virginia Player HISTORY Eleanor BJair WILL Edith Hall GIFTS TO GIRLS David Williams Robert Dort

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inated, more cities must follow the examples set by Cleveland and New York. We have come this far in trying to prevent juvenile delinquency, but it is apparent we must go still farther. It is cities like our state capital, Boston, that are for behind in curbing this social disease. The city blames delinquency on public apathy and ignorance. Whatever the cause, little has been done to counteract it. Vandal- ism among school children alone costs Boston schools around $150,000 annually. The school bill for broken windows alone runs between $70,000 and $90,000 a year. In the year 1952 juvenile cases in Boston jumped an unbelievable fifty-four per cent. And only recently the front pages of our newspapers were darkened by the report of such enormities as the vicious beating of a Boston College professor by a teen-age gang and the ruthless murder of a respected Jewish rabbi. This is certainly concrete proof that Boston, our largest, most dignified, and most cultured city, leaves much to be desired by way of controlling its youthful crime problem. There are several steps which, if taken, would help to end juvenile delinquency. For instance if all parents concentrated on a better environment for their children, a huge portion of delinquency cases would be reduced. If through our citizenry, we support a better equipped and more efficient police department, better results will be forthcoming. The community must also play its port in the liquidation of this evil by offering more recrea- tional facilities and opportunities to its younger popula- tion. We all know the serious problem that lies ahead of us, and knowledge is the first step in correcting it. If all cooperate, we can eliminate delinquency. It is time the people of this country face the cold facts and take positive steps to eradicate an evil which, if allowed to grow, can only result in social disintegration. THE BEAT GENERATION by ANN KELLEHER During the last few years we have been constantly confronted on every side with articles, stories, and discus- sions pertaining to the youth of today. Much of this publicity has been unfavorable and, in every group, there is someone who is ready to proclaim the moral and ideal- istic degradation of this younger generation. This situation is certainly not unique. During the period following World War I the same conditions prevailed. Then, however, the flapper, instead of the bobby-soxer, ond the open roadster, instead of the hot-rod, symbolized, that younger generation. Like their famous predeces- sors, the lost generation, today ' s young people are imbued with a restlessness and nervous tension common to adolescents whose childhood is disrupted by the stress and turmoil of a world conflict. Clellon Holmes, writing for the New York Times Magazine, in November, 1952, called this the Beat Generation. This term, in my opinion, casts a dark shadow of hopelessness and despair over the future. It seems, moreover, that while their predecessors in the twenties lowered their moral and idealistic standards in a spirit of disillusionment, today ' s young people participate in debasing activities to satisfy their curiosity. No generation can be labeled by the actions of a few individuals. The boy whose widowed mother confessed to authorities that he stole from her in order to procure money for the purchase of narcotics cannot be considered o typical teenager; neither can the girl, described in a recent magazine article, who helps care for her fatherless brothers and sisters, works in a drugstore, maintains honor marks in school and arises at five o ' clock each morning to work on a science project. Neither of these is typical, and yet both seem to typify the spirit of this restless generation. Practically every community in America is, to some extent, plagued by teen age wildness and recklessness. Party crashing, drinking, rowdiness, and wild driving are some of the most common manifestations of the desire to try something new. West Hartford, Connecticut, for example, was confronted with this problem to a very serious degree. In that community, every family contain- ing a teenager was acutely aware of the seriousness of the situation. The parents in that city, under Parent Teacher Organization leadership, adopted a set of seven principles evolved by Merrit A. Hewitt, headmaster of Kingswood, a private boys ' school near West Hartford. In explaining the set of principles, Mr. Hewitt reasoned that young people, utilizing automobiles, range over a greater distance than ever before and thus escape many parental controls. Moreover, they are given more priv- ileges, without being required to accept the attendant responsibilities. What is needed, said Mr. Hewitt, is not a code of conduct for young people, but a set of principles to guide parents so that the young people will know precisely what is expected of them. ' The suggested principles for parents are these; 1. Insist that your boy or girl go to no parties to which he or she is not invited, and insist that no one be allowed at your party who is not invited. 2. Have no parties at your home unless- you are there. Every party of teenagers should be adequately chaperoned. 3. Impress upon your son or daughter that when he or she is driving someone in a car, he or she is responsible for that person ' s safety. 1 This Is The Beat Generation — Clellon Holmes. New York Times Magazine, November 6, 1953 — page 10. 1 Connecticut Tomes Its Teenagers — Hortzoll Spence, Satur- doy Evening Post, October 4, 1952 — page 24. 125 ]