TEENS MUST LEARN VIOLENCE NOT THE WAY

I believe that there are many causes that contribute to teen-age violence
today. Some of these include teen-agers not knowing how to manage their
anger, the use of drugs and alcohol, violence that is shown on TV, in movies
and videos, and also parents acting violently toward their children. I
believe that the combination of these reasons affects the way teen-agers act.

When teen-agers don't know how to manage their anger many things can happen.
Kids who lose their tempers can get into trouble when they start fights,
punch or break things. They can also hurt themselves by acting out violently
and punching walls. Teen-agers who don't know how to handle their anger
often take it out on innocent people, which can get them kicked out of
school or even put on probation. There are a lot of kids like this at my
school but we have counselors who help us deal with anger in positive ways.

Drugs and alcohol affect teen-agers' lives. In Santa Barbara it is very easy
to get all kinds of drugs and many teens are using them. Drugs are dangerous
because they can be very addictive and sometimes kids will act crazy if they
can't get them. When kids are drunk or high they have a harder time
controlling their anger. They can lose control of their emotions and things
can seem much worse than they really are. Drugs and alcohol are also used to
self-medicate when teens are stressed out. This is dangerous because the
problems that exist are just pushed to the side rather than dealt with.

I think that TV and other forms of entertainment show too much violence.
When teen-agers see their favorite stars beating someone up or shooting guns
in a movie, it makes it seem like it is OK to solve your problems with
violence. It is hard to listen to music, watch TV, or go to the movies
without seeing violence. When kids see so much violence it just makes it
easier for them to act that way themselves.

Another big reason teen-agers become violent is the example they see parents
and other adults set. When a parent hits a child or gets in a fight with
someone on the street, it tells children that violence is a good way to
handle problems. If you grow up seeing people getting mad and hitting each
other, it starts to seem normal. Then when something makes you mad it just
seems OK to act the same way.

I think that teen violence has become such a big problem because we are
surrounded by violence. Violence is in our entertainment, schools and homes.
I think it would be very difficult to change TV shows and music videos, but
I think we can do something about our own actions. I think counseling is
good because I have seen it work at my school. If teen-agers were taught
that violence is not an acceptable way to deal with problems and they were
shown better ways, the violence would decrease.

Cheryl Villapania, 16, is a student at El Puente School in Santa Barbara.
She is one of three students selected to participate in "Voices Against
Violence: A Congressional Teen Conference" in Washington, D.C., on Oct.
19-20. Rep. Lois Capps announced the selection of Villapania, along with
Stacie Pollock of Santa Maria and Brandon Tuman of Arroyo Grande. Chosen by
a committee of local community leaders, the three will help draft a
resolution advising Congress on the problem.

Young Voices is a column written by Santa Barbara County young people, ages
21 and under.

Columns should be typed and 500 to 700 words long. Submissions, with a
school photo, can be mailed to City Editor Jesse Chavarria at 715 Anacapa
St., Santa Barbara 93102, or faxed to 966-6258.