For decades Pasco High School has been stuck dealing with gang issues. Students have had to struggle with the challenges and issues that gangs have brought such as drugs, alcohol, and violence. One of the many issues has been the decline of school activity. From grades to attendance, students have shown a lack of interest in school that may be tied to the bad influences of gangs. Social media has also been a factor in this because of the number of media that portray gangs well. In fact, due to students becoming close to or even joining gangs, many have been growing issues at home with their parents creating hostile living environments. The number of consequences is huge for those who choose to be a part of gangs, but the question is how common is it to be a part of a gang in Pasco High.
Joining a gang or being close to one can bring many issues one of those being drugs and alcohol. Consuming alcohol or drugs can be very difficult to avoid considering the amount of social pressure that’s put on students to drink or do drugs. An article on drug abuse statistics stated, “By the time they’re in 12th grade, 46.6% of teens have tried illicit drugs’’. Almost half of high school students are doing drugs, which could be made worse by being close to a gang. An article posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention stated, “On average, respondents estimated that 43 percent of the drug sales in their jurisdictions involved gang members.” Almost half of the gang members in their area were involved in selling drugs. The chances of you not only doing drugs but selling drugs become bigger too.
A huge problem that is also hurting students is the major lack of interest in school. Grades, attendance, and behavior are being affected by the bad influences of gangs. Many students make the choice to ignore schoolwork because many decide that school doesn’t matter. An article written by Prezi stated, “95% of gang members are high school dropouts.” Many younger impressionable students may look to these people and wrongly follow their paths. The lack of education could also lead to poverty.
Social media is also a huge issue with the amount of entertainment and influences making gang behavior seem like a good thing. An article written by Wral said, “Gangs are using social media to draw youth in – telling young people they are ‘doing good in the community’ by joining a gang.” Social media is an extremely easy place to draw in young people.
Hostile living environments are also a consequence of joining a gang. Many personally know how being a part of the wrong crowd can affect and destroy relationships with family members. Coming late from doing something most likely illegal is not going to make your parents want you around. This could lead to you getting kicked out or threatened in some way.
I wanted to see how the current situation with gangs was at Pasco High School. So, I conducted three surveys all with ten random students. The first question I asked was are you or a current student you know directly part of a gang? Out of those ten, eight replied “yes.” I was surprised to know how bad the situation actually was. The next question was had you or any current student you know been influenced by gang members to do any type of drug or alcohol and if yes what type? Out of ten, seven said “yes.” The types of drugs consumed I got to hear were beer, cigarettes, and Marianna. The last question I asked was have you or a current student you know grown more violent or committed illegal stuff more frequently since joining a gang? Out of ten, six said “yes.” So, it seems that joining a gang has made students feel more comfortable with a criminal lifestyle.
Joining a gang has many negative effects on students. From school to home life, being in one can lead to heavy consequences. It’s important to just try to avoid them and if you can’t, bring it up to someone you trust. Especially an adult like your parents or a teacher.
