[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 103 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1367-E1368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           STOP THE VIOLENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 24, 2002

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Olesya Koretska, a seventh grader at South Middle School in Hartford, 
Connecticut, for being named a finalist in the national Do the Write 
Thing Challenge, and to share her impressive essay with my colleagues. 
I commend Olesya for standing up to the constant pressures that she 
faces in her school, and for her courage in trying to combat the ever-
growing problem of youth violence.
  The Do the Write Thing Challenge is an initiative of the National 
Campaign to Stop Violence designed to give middle school students the 
opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives and 
to communicate in writing what they think should be done to change our 
culture and violence. The program encourages students to make personal 
commitments to do something about the problem with the ultimate goal of 
helping them break the cycles of violence in their homes, school, and 
neighborhoods.
  I had the opportunity to meet with Olesya, and was amazed that she so 
ably articulated here concerns only after being in the Untied States 
for a few years. Not only has she overcome language and social 
barriers, Olesya has taken the initiative to remedy the problems that 
she and her classmates face everyday. In the short amount of time she 
has been in the Untied States, Olesya has immersed herself in her new 
environment and recognized what must be done to improve that 
environment for herself and her classmates.

       Violence is one of the most important issues of our society 
     because of its tremendous impact on the health and well being 
     of our youth. Violence results in physical and mental injury 
     of a person and sometimes even in death. It affects children, 
     youth, and adults. It has affected (the) life of almost every 
     person in the U.S.A. including me. There are the ways to get 
     involved into violence, but there are the ways to avoid it 
     too.
       Having a good friend is one way to stay out of violence, 
     but are you sure that you have a good friend? I was sure I 
     did. However that ``good'' friend almost involved me in 
     stealing. We were best friends and once she told me that she 
     was a member of a gang I really wanted to join. I asked if I 
     could be in the gang. She said yes, but I had to steal 
     something for it. I was thinking about that all night long 
     but I couldn't think of anything, so I asked my parents for 
     advice. My parents explained to me that no friend would ask 
     me to steal and if she did she was not worth to be my friend. 
     So I left the gang and my friend. Now I'm glad that I took my 
     parents' advice. It stopped me from doing something very bad.
       The ideas about violence don't usually come to the youth by 
     themselves. there are a lot of sources where teens can see or 
     hear about it. For example, violent media. Sometimes the 
     young fans of the famous actors can become thieves or even 
     murderers after they've seen the movie with actor doing the 
     same.
       The other cause of the youth violence is the peer pressure. 
     Often the youth is violent because of the bad friends. Once a 
     girl I knew began to steal different things because she 
     wanted her new friends to see how ``cool'' she was. And she 
     did until she got caught. Then her friends who made her steal 
     left her out. She was also punished at home and suspended 
     from school. I think that choosing friends carefully is a 
     better idea then this.
       Another reason of the youth violence is domestic violence. 
     On one hand, if a child grows up without parents, and nobody 
     takes care of him he is not going to care about anybody else. 
     He can take somebody's property or hurt somebody. On the 
     other hand, if the parents love their child so much and give 
     their child too much, give him and do for him whatever he 
     wants then a child will get used to it. After that, he'll 
     demand something from other people too. And that's what will 
     later push him to violence. So it's very important that 
     parents raise their children properly.
       There are a lot of ways that we all can do to avoid 
     violence. First, we can talk to our parents or teachers. 
     Talking to somebody close to you helps a lot. For example, 
     teachers can give you advice. Your parents can talk to you 
     about their experience when they were young. They can also 
     explain why violence is bad and unnecessary. All those may 
     change our minds about violence.
       Second, we should choose our friends carefully. For 
     instance, if my new friend has violence problems then how do 
     I know that she do something violent again? That's why we 
     should avoid friends like that. Some teens can push you to 
     violence, too.

[[Page E1368]]

       Third, avoiding media makes your mind clear from violent 
     thoughts. For example, my neighbor who watched too many 
     violent movies hurt his sister while playing ``Spy'' games. 
     After that his parents made him do something more interesting 
     like reading, watching adventure movies and funny shows. 
     After that the boy had changed. He stopped playing ``Spy'' 
     games and he became a better student. Now he is very thankful 
     to his parents.
       We have to stop the violence! Then our future will be safe 
     and peaceful.

  I admire Olesya for her bravery in speaking out about youth violence 
and her commitment to stop it. Few students would be able to verbalize 
their frustrations, let alone identify causes and solutions for youth 
violence in their schools. Olesya Koretska is an extraordinary student 
and inspiration for other young Americans, and I would urge other 
students to follow in her remarkable footsteps.