Gang Violence Awareness

A gang, one with many definitions, can be defined as an association of criminals, a crowd, an informal body of friends and finally an organized body of workmen. People join gangs for protection, to substitute for family and some will organize a gang because misery needs company and being corrupted alone just isn't enough. Graffiti and colors are a way to identify who is in what gang. Some may think that gangs are terrorist organizations. Terrorist organizations are political movements that use terror as a weapon to achieve its goals, where as a gang doesn't use violence to achieve anything. The gang life can ensure many individuals money, protection and many other things that aren't offered to them. The consequences of joining a gang include death and fatal injuries, a bad rep and a even worst future. I believe gangs will never vanish from society until the economy improves and everyone treats each other truly equal. People may already be walking down the wrong path before becoming an active member of the gang life, for example selling drugs. If someone I knew was to join a gang, I would tell them that whatever their going through to make them want to ruin their life isn't worth it and the only thing promised from a gang is death and jail. Another topic I would relate to gang violence is the death toll in America and the money being wasted in the prison system instead of trying to take America out of debt. I would also relate to the poverty in certain urban communities and the lack of available jobs & housing. I believe that gangs should cease and as cliche as it sounds we should unite and empower one another.

SAT Word Play

Abase
(v.)
to humiliate, degrade
(after being overthrown and abased, the deposed leader offered to bow down to his conqueror)
"Abase" makes me think of racism. Anybody of another race not of their own, degrades another race.

Abate
(v.)
to reduce, lessen
(the rain poured down for a while, then abated)
"Abate" makes me think of weight loss. A girl weighed over 200 pounds, then after her new diet plan and exercise system her weight abated.

Abdicate
(v.)
to give up a position, usually one of leadership
(when he realized that the revolutionaries would surely win, the king abdicated his throne)
"Abdicated" makes me think of politics. When the president's sex scandal was made public, he abdicated his presidency.

Abduct
(v.)
to kidnap, take by force
(the evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.)
"Abduct" makes me think of Amber Alert. Because of the increase of abductions over the past years, Amber Alerts have been issued in every state more then ever.

Aberration
(v.)
something that differs from the norm
(in 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the world series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox have not won a World Series since.)
"Aberration" makes me think of rituals. Trish has had the same rituals ever since she was 16 and she fears any aberrations.

Abet
(v.)
to aid, help, encourage
(the spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to abet him)
"Abet" makes me think of hospitals. The nurse abet the old man through the final days of his life.

Abhor
(v.)
to hate, detest
(because he always wound up kicking himself in the head when he tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the spot.)
"Abhor" makes me think of insecurities. Jenna believed her nose was to big for her face so she began to abhor it.

Abide
(v.)
to put up with
(though he did not agree with the decision, Chuck decided to abide by it)
"Abide" makes me think of Spartacus. Spartacus didn't wish to be a gladiator but he abade by the government's wishes in order to avenge his wife's death.

Abject
(adj.)
wretched, pitiful
(after losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject)
"Abject" makes me think of homelessness. The homeless man was accustomed to the misfortunes, his spirit was broken and he was abject.

Abjure
(v.)
to reject, renounce
(to prove his honesty , the president abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)
"Abjure" makes me think of individuality. Jessie abjured the idea of doing drugs just because all of her friends were doing it.

Acrid
(adj.)
sharp; pungent (used of smells and taste)
(When the detective arrived at the scene of the crime, the smell of blood and marijuana was acrid.)
"Acrid" makes me think of acid. The acidic scent was acrid.

Acquiesce
(v.)
to agree to; give in to
(Because the soldiers were out numbered, they acquiesced to a truce.)
"Acquiesce" makes me think of debating. The democratic party acquiesced.

Bigot
(adj.)
narrow-minded, prejudiced person
(The Ku Klux Klan are all bigots.)
"Bigot" makes me think of the civil rights movement. Bigots played a major role in sabotaging the civil rights movement.

Boorish
(adj.)
ill-mannered
(Kanye West's arrogance can be confused as being boorish to people that don't know him personally.)
"Boorish" makes me think of snotty people. The girls who attended private school acted boorish towards the other girls coming from public school.

Counterfeit
(adj.)
fake; false
(The store clerk was furious after receiving counterfeit money.)
"Counterfeit" makes me think of money. The twenty dollar bill was a convincing counterfeit copy.

Cynical
(v.)
believing that people act only out of selfish motives
(The manager acted extremely cynical, knowing that because of his good job, he'll receive a large profit.)
"Cynical" makes me think of management. Sometimes managers concern aren't the artist, but their share of that artist success.

Enfranchise
(v.)
give voting rights
(In history, many women fought for the government to enfranchise to the opposite sex.)
"Enfranchise" makes me think of the loss of equality.

Epistle
(noun.)
a letter (form of communication)
(The distant lovers sent epistles back and forth.)
"Epistle" makes me think of the days phones weren't invented when people had to send letters to one another.

Hamper
(v.)
hinder; obstruct


Heresy
(adj.)
against orthodox opinion

Kindle
(v.)
to start a fire
(Because Jenine was so stubborn she refused to re-kindle the flame with her husband.)

Lance
(noun.)
spear; spike; javelin
(During the time of mesoamerica, Aztecs and other tribes used forms of lances as weaponry.)

Noxious
(adj.)
harmful; poisonous; lethal
(The gases that were leaking through the pipe were noxious for elder workers.)

Obscure
(v.)
difficult to understand; partially hidden
(The accusations of infidelity were obscure seeing as the husband was home all night.)

Placid
(adj.)
calm; peaceful
(The Alps in which I took a skiing trip to was very placid.)

Poignant
(adj.)
deeply moving; strong affecting the emotions
(The movie was poignant, so i couldn't help but to cry.)

Remuneration
(v.)
payment for work done
(The man who painted the living room never returned for his remuneration.)

Respite
(v.)
a break; intermission
(The play had a twenty minute respite.)

Talisman
(noun.)
lucky charm
(Before every game, Jordan rubs his talisman around his neck to increase his luck.)

Terse
(adj.)
concise; to the point
(The lawyer was terse when talking about what the prosecutor had committed.)

My Community and Our Trees

My name is Simone-Elise and I'm a 17 year old enviormentalist and activist in training. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and I currently reside in Sheepshead Bay. I attend Liberation Diploma Plus HS in Coney Island and I'm in my senior year. I'm a fun laid back person, with a hippie personality. I always find the light in some of the worst situations and I have a loving and determined spirit. Some of my interest include fashion, music, art, and ever since i was introduced to one of my favorite teachers, Mr.Powers, philosophy and ecology are two things I could spend a whole day finding out more about.


My community is a very quiet and kept together place. We have houses, apartment complexes, park, trees and our own little shopping and food area by the train stations and buses which some of our locals nickname it "the bay". The people are very friendly but many often keep to themselves. We don't really hear sirens, and police cars, fights, or commotion. The most you'll ever hear in my neighborhood is an ice cream truck or laughter. Although I do live in a good neighborhood, it doesn't mean our air is any better then the next or a poverty stricken area. One positive thing about my community is that its clean, and safe for children. One negative about my community is that they often tend to divide into social groups depending on which block you live on, which I don't think is very fair.


In my Ecology & Community the students were asked to select five different leaves from trees in our neighborhood and bring them to class. We conducted internet research on the type of leaves we've selected and now I'm here to share with you my findings.


The first leaf I picked was from a Yellow Birch tree. The Yellow Birch tree is the most frequently used birch for lumber. Its hard, strong wood is used for furniture and various small objects. Deer, rabbits and beaver feed on this tree. It is a broadleaf simple leaf that is toothed. 


Second up, I picked a leaf from a Sugar Maple tree. The Sugar Maple is a magnificent forest tree. The wood is hard, strong, close-grained, and tough, with a fine, satiny surface. It is in great demand for flooring, veneer, interior finish, furniture, shoe lasts, rollers, and as a fuel wood of the best quality.


One of my favorite leaves, the Eastern Red Ceder, differs from ever leave that I picked because it is that of the conifer family. The wood of the Red Cedar is fragrant and is used extensively for furniture. The foliage is bright green to dark green.


Next on the list is a leaf from a Black Walnut tree, which is the only compound leaf I picked. While valued as a lumber tree it may not make the best yard tree. The nuts are edible but are a nuisance to clean up and leaves often fall prematurely from some types of leaf disease.  


Finally last but not least, the Black Cherry Tree. It is also known as a wild cherry or wild rum cherry tree. One of the largest cherry trees, the black cherry tree can grow to heights of fifty to eighty feet with a mature spread of twenty to fifty feet. The black cherry tree is deciduous. The wood of the black cherry tree is hard and reddish brown. It is commercially used in a large number of products, such as furniture, cabinets, gunstocks and musical instruments.