12.27.2005

95% of Boston high schoolers want to go to college -- that's the good news. In the same survey, 90% said they witnessed acts of violence; 50% are afraid of gangs, feel unsafe on public transit, or know someone with a gun. Predictably, the mayor is shocked by these results, and has appointed a new policy point person on youth issues, blah blah blah. I feel like calling Lawrence Fishburne in here to reenact the last scene from School Daze: "WAAAAAKE UUUUUUP!!" Do we have to wait until all 100% of the kids is personally assaulted before we do something effective, like an anti-violence curriculum, funding community policing, afterschool programs and jobs for kids? Oh right, whoops, we're talking about the Boston public schools here.

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