Student essays confront violence pg 19

By: THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER on Dec. 15 published three pages of impassioned student commentary on violence, featuring such lines as "Do you know how heartbreaking it is to see a dead body?"
Another youngster wrote, "I pray each night that I won't fall victim to a random drive-by shooting, be injured in a gang attack or get caught in the crossfire of drug addicts. There is a serious illness in America when children are praying to God each night that their classmates won't kill them tomorrow in school."
The Inquirer received more than 1,500 submissions from children of all ages after an invitation by the editorial board.
"The essays are eloquent testimony to the depth of this problem and the ability of young people to express their sense of despair and desperate hope," editorial page editor Jane Eisner commented.