*The following is a typical example of what we all hear on news spots every day: Two executives of Diablo Products, a manufacturer of degreasers and oven and grill cleaners, were arrested for dumping chemicals into public waterways.
"Perhaps one of the trickiest scams where people try to abuse the system involved two Russian brothers who took advantage of our health care system. The brothers used over 350 front companies to fabricate insurance billings totaling more than one billion dollars. They used the companies to promise patients care that they didn't receive. The scams started with a phone pitch promising free medical exams. The patients were then sent to expensive mobile clinics. The doctors then charged insurers an average of $8,000 per patient. This was the biggest health care scam in U.S. history. The two have since been caught and are awaiting their sentence in a California court." Alan Welburn, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon
"Government employees are using the food stamp system for their own advancement. In Detroit, a social worker submitted Mae Duncan's application into the system and Miss Duncan was sent $26,000 in food stamps. Mae Duncan not only didn't need the money, but she doesn't even exist. The social worker was having Mae's stamps, along with 26 other nonexistent people's stamps, sent to her address.... Other cases similar to this one are reported on a regular basis from all over the country. Over $5 billion of the $24 billion set aside for this program is lost every year due to fraud." Lisa Wharton, Marion High School, Marion, South Dakota
*Unfortunately we too often hear of the crooks that either don't get caught or don't get punished. Crime looks easy and entices those with weak character:
"An owner of a grocery store in East St. Louis paid as little as sixty-five cents on the dollar for food stamps. He later cashed them in for full value. He redeemed $1.3 million in a year and a half. Ten years earlier Coates Market had been disqualified from the food-stamp program for fraud. Six months later it was back on the program. Two social servicecaseworkers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana issued $50,000 in food stamps to nonexistent recipients. Nobody seemed to notice the state clerk in Minnesota who pocketed $180,000 worth of returned food stamps in nine months." Mike Tallon, Lexington High School, Lexington, Illinois
*Criminals make skeptics out of impressionable young people:
"Last week during Sunday School service, people came to the door and asked for money. They said they were from Hayard, Kentucky. They said they had run out of gas and wanted money to get home. The church gave them money, and three days later they were arrested in Ashland, Kentucky for drug trafficking. These people have no responsibility for anything; they respect no one." Jeremy Hall, Rock Hill Senior High School, Ironton, Ohio
*Perhaps we need to lighten up a bit at this point. An excerpt from the paper submitted by Michael Lantz may do the trick:
"Recently a man robbed a bank and the escape car was, well--a cab. The burglar was seen leaving the bank in the cab, making it very easy for the police to apprehend the suspect. It never occurred to the cab driver [to suspect his passenger] despite the [passenger] paying $73 for a $24 ride. How odd for a person to take a cab to go rob a bank. Perhaps he should of just called the cops and asked them for a ride. Did you hear the story about the suspect who was caught red han..uh, footed? This man was a prisoner at a Rockland County state prison. He escaped from this jail and fled into the woods. Good thing for the authorities, but not for the prisoner, he was wearing those sneakers which light when you step down. It was easy to follow him in the dimly lit woods with the red lights flashing. How could one be so, so stupid?" Michael Lantz, Valhalla High , Valhalla, New York
*Michael's story reminded us of a "dimly lit" robber in Clearfield, Pennsylvania who wore his old army fatigue jacket with his name on it!!
Many suggest educators and politicians alike, are shirking their responsibilities:
"I heard about a student-run LSD ring in a school in Virginia with which administrators refused to get involved. Reports claimed that these drug transactions took place outside of the school, but on school property. Administrators claimed that since this went on outside of the school building, it was not a concern of the school administration. They would not monitor the suspected students, and offered no help to police." Jeremy Wyatt, Camden High School, Camden, Tennessee
"In Omaha, one boy held a gun to the head of a fifth grader. School authorities treated the incident only as a school disciplinary problem, a couple of months later the boy shot a young girl with a .45 automatic...reflection of what goes on in the outside world." Amanda Hanson, Concordia High School, Concordia, Kansas
"The moral, responsible people in this country should demand that our leaders and legislators place the emphasis back on the values that make a country strong rather than sitting by and letting these values be replaced by behavior that destroys the fabric of our society and makes us weak." Matthew Grandon, Valley Springs High, Valley Springs, Arkansas
"The idea of getting off and passing the blame must be changed to punishing and learning a lesson." Julie Irion, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois
"Also there is a group of students at my school working on getting a bill passed to increase penalties for youths committing violent crimes. This could be the most important step being taken, because youths are the ones in charge, and the ones that are trying to get this passed. One student said, 'We feel that kids must be taught that the taking of a life is not a trivial matter'." Ben Tenpenny, Seaman High School, Topeka, Kansas
"The harm this increasing violence causes is far reaching. Ð The sad thing is these are not the majority of the students causing the increase in violence. Why then, do they have this power; and whose responsibility is it to change things and make schools safe places of learning?... Students do not realize the strength they have in numbers and that positive peer pressure can also have an effect." Sarah Parrish, New Underwood High , New Underwood, South Dakota
"Many people in this country feel that the institution of education is in severe decline. Schools are deteriorating; good teachers are abandoning the profession; students perceive little value in the subjects they are taught, and officials of other nations openly mock our educational standards and institutions. Our schools have become hotbeds of violence, vandalism, and unethical behavior. And most people feel it is not their problem. Candidates who are running for office are largely ignoring the issue of education reform. When they do mention it, it is stressed largely as a means of restoring our industrial competitiveness. This makes education an aspect of the economy, and not a fundamental institution necessary for the survival of society. Serious education reform cannot be achieved until there is a significant increase in the number of people, political leaders, educators, parents and students agreeing that widespread reform is needed and agreeing on general ways to go about achieving it. Ð Educators must realize that their work, coupled with the institution of family, is the key factor in shaping a young person's life, and deciding what kind of citizen they will someday be." Jeremy Wyatt, Camden High School, Camden, Tennessee
*In the excerpt that follows, Stephani