An Open Letter to Re-Open Trenton Public Libraries

Dear Mayor Eric Jackson,

I know you are new in office but I am requesting that you do what you can to please reopen the shuttered city libraries that were closed since August of 2010. Now don't get me wrong, I do recognize that the Main Branch on Academy Street has made some great progress since the other locations have been closed.

All one has to do is take a quick look inside the Main Branch nowadays to see how they have added newer equipment, a DVD dispenser, and a larger variety of E-books (much to my delight). Along with this, I have also seen the library's strategic plan that lays out a blueprint for opening two satellite libraries within one year. Now on the surface that sounds fine and dandy, but I must say that this time-frame is far too long. (For more on the Library's strategic plan, you can always click here).

Indeed, I hate to be that proverbial fly in the ointment that always seems to find something wrong even in our best laid plans, but indeed on this occasion, I must. As I myself am a product of the free public library system, I feel the need to speak up early and often about this important issue. As a matter of fact, I can say without hesitation, that my life would have turned out completely different were it not for the free public library system.

As a kid, the library was a safe haven for me. It gave me a place to play games, use the computer, interact with like-minded peers, and last but not least, check-out books. Along with this, it encouraged me to read and educate myself more and more. Now years later, I am a PhD candidate at Capella University, but I digress.

Research has shown that libraries, which are simply collections of books and periodicals, add significant value to the community by providing easy access to high quality research content, helping adults upgrade their skills and find jobs, and by playing a significant role in improving childhood literacy, among other things. Bottom line: libraries are a vital part of the community. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Researcher David Giles said, "No other institution, public or private, does a better job of reaching people who have been left behind in today’s economy, have failed to reach their potential in the city’s public school system or who simply need help navigating an increasingly complex world".

Moreover, studies done in New York and Texas both show that there is an economic return on investment for public libraries according to the Illinois Library Association, a library advocacy organization. These are definitely things to consider when allocating funds for our public libraries in the city of Trenton.

So, Mayor Jackson I hope that my plea to have the libraries re-opened doesn't fall on deaf ears and that you will do what you can do to re-open these library branches as I think this will improve things in the city of Trenton.

Sincerely,

Anwar's Reflections

Knock Out Game Must End

TRENTON-- So, as I was chatting with my brother this past week, I was told about a new phenomenon happening in different cities like New York and Philadelphia. Its called the Knock Out game.

Sadly enough with this game young people (teenagers) have been assaulting innocent bystanders by deliberately catching them off-guard and striking them with their fists. The aim of the game is to 'knock out' the bystander to the point they become unconscious.The assailants then post video footage of the assault online.

Victims of this sick and senseless game have included individuals like Diego Moya, a chef from Manhattan and possibly even an elderly woman in East New York. Along with these individuals Phoebe Connolly, a young lady that was biking in the Columbia Heights area of Washington, was "punched in the face" by a teenager. Connolly goes on to report that the teenager laughed after hitting her in the face. Thankfully, Connolly was not seriously injured.

According to Jeff Rosen and Avni Patel from Today.Com, the assailants involved in these attacks are even targeting women and children. They go on to report that "cases are piling up, and that police are on high alert".

Activists like the Rev. Al Sharpton and Tony Herbert of the National Action Network have both denounced the attacks calling them a form of 'cowardice'. Herbert has called on social media websites to take down videos of the attacks.

I want to join the chorus of individuals that have come forth to denounce these senseless acts of violence. I don't want this cowardice form of behavior to grow and fester. Yet at the same time, one wonders whether this aggressive behavior is symptomatic of the larger violent culture that exists in the United States. According to Mel Schwarz, a Psychology Today contributor, the United States is "easily the most violent high-income society on the Earth". Schwarz goes on to say that "when a system—individual, family, or culture —adapts to and normalizes grossly abhorrent activities, that system is terribly impaired. This condition is known as normosis, whereby we make normal that which is indeed aberrant. As a society, we find ourselves in just this circumstance".

Indeed, we as a society cannot allow things like the Knock Out game to fester and grow. I think the most important thing to do here is to first of all raise awareness on this important issue. If you don't what's going on, you can't take action. So, let's get the word out there, first and foremost. The second thing we need to do is call a spade a spade and publicly denounce this behavior, whether it be by the water cooler at work or at the barber shop or at the beauty salon, or even in the school cafeteria, the culprits behind these cowardly acts must be shamed. They must know that this behavior is not acceptable. And a big first step in that direction is to have social media sites like YouTube take these videos off their site. By doing this, we can send a loud and clear message that cowardly and thuggish behavior cannot stand in a civilized society.