reprinted from Democrat & Chronicle (5/1/08)

By Candice Crayon - Student, School of Imaging & Information Technology at Edison.

Teen Council member

I feel as if the youth in our community aren't capable of standing on their own two feet without a crutch. On a day-to-day basis, I constantly hear the phrases, "It wasn't my fault," or "I'm not responsible for someone else's actions."

In all reality, somewhere along the line, we have forgotten what so many people in the past have lived by.

If it takes a village to raise a child, all are responsible for the words that come out of his/her mouth, all are responsible for the frame of mind that child carries around. So the demise of our Rochester community isn't anyone's fault but our own.

Some may not like my opinion, some may agree and some may ignore it completely. But the fact of the matter is that the teen pregnancy rates, the deaths, dropout rates and the lack of respect can't be ignored.

The indifference toward the situation has to stop and we need to make amends.

If we accept what is happening, we can save the community. A house divided among itself will fall. I, for one, am tired of all the talk of "fixing up" the livelihood of Rochester and seeing no results.

I mean, it sounds nice when you've rehearsed it over and over and you're in front of many people. But when you're behind closed doors, honestly, what are you going to do? My life, and my future children's lives, can't be rehearsed. Change starts with you. You have the capability to say, "Hey, let's get up and do something about this." Stop pretending to be concerned and get off the couch and go do something ... anything. Stop sitting there watching the news, shaking your head and saying, "That's a shame, what are they going to do?"

What are we going to do? Wait until we all die off and mark it all down as unfortunate events? This is our community and our lives that we try to lead day to day.

When will something be done where the results are evident? When will we rest at ease, knowing that the next generation isn't coming into the world with a broken hoe to till an earth that hasn't grown beauty for decades?