Cycle of violence
On Sept. 18 in North Philadelphia, 13-year-old Alaysia Smith was fatally shot inside her grandmother’s home on the 2800 block of Bailey St.
Teenagers having possession of a gun is outrageous. Records show Smith is the youngest victim of gun violence in the city this year.
At some point in time this gun violence has to be stopped. It is affecting all citizens but also targeting the youth. Gun violence has been a real problem for the past ongoing years now throughout our Philadelphia metropolitan area, including the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
Political representatives, teachers and counselors, family members, and neighbors have to keep an eye out for our youth. Especially if the youth are in cahoots of having violent tendencies.
But in most cases, the youth have to have their own backs. Calling each other out on actions they have no business doing. That they know could turn violent mistakenly or, sadly sometimes, intentionally.
We as citizens want to be optimistic about our future society of non-violence. But it is hard to be optimistic when gun-involved incidents happen like this regularly.
More policies to end gun violence and have gun law control need to be done by Gov. Josh Shapiro and Mayor Cherelle Parker in partnership with City Council.
This violent crime spree and violence cycle continues and it should not be continuing over and over again.
Alim Howell
N-G soccer a dedicated group
As a member of the first graduating class of Saint Maria Goretti High School in 1958, I am always curious about the many changes to my alma mater since those days of female-only students. So it was with great interest that I read the front-page report by Mark Zimmaro in last week’s Review (“Enthusiasm abounds as N-G returns to varsity soccer”). When girls alone attended that school, the only varsity sport I can recall was basketball. There were no other indoor or outdoor sports teams. I was too short to offer my services to the basketball team, but I cheered them on anyway. I was just lucky that the Glee Club had no size requirements.
So it was a pleasure to read how the 2024 Neumann-Goretti High School boys soccer team, the Saints, is ending a 12-year layoff and returning to varsity competition.
Of course it takes an incredible amount of strength and effort to rebuild a team capable of competing and winning championships. So I give a lot of credit to these student-athletes and their coach Jacob van Cleef for their dedication to making a new name for themselves.
We all understand how much of a struggle this new team is experiencing as they work hard to win games. Athletic talent takes time and effort to develop. Zimmaro’s report makes that perfectly clear.
What makes this story so special is that these young men are dedicated to reaching their goal of becoming a championship soccer team. They should keep making progress with that kind of enthusiasm and hard work.
Thanks to reporter Mark Zimmaro for covering this brave team. We should all be rooting for their success! Go, Saints!
Gloria C. Endres
