The United States government lags behind the rest of the world’s relaxed punishments for junior offenders. The United Nations is championing a movement towards relaxed justice towards these minor and has gotten all members, except for Somalia and the United States, to sign a treaty forbidding the lifelong imprisonment of delinquents under the age of 18.
The United States is hard pressed to adopt such standards but is careful to consider all complications and implications of creating these laws. Due to the controversial nature of these laws, the Supreme Court has begun the process of judicial review and is deliberating whether or not the law violates the eighth amendment’s restriction on cruel and unusual punishment.
A handful of states have already established laws prohibiting life without parole for minors setting a precedent that the Supreme Court will hopefully adopt. The United State’s confused stance on this issue is surprising, as children, especially as young as thirteen, are at the pinnacle of their adolescence development. According to Erik Erikson, a well-known psychologist, children start questioning their identity and their role in the world as early as thirteen years old.
This continues until an individual begins to mature at nineteen years old. Individuals in this age range experiment with their identities often looking for elders as role models. During such a formidable time in a youth’s life, influences in adult jails will further corrupt these individuals when they could have been reformed.
In the cases, Sullivan vs. Florida and Graham vs. Florida, the Supreme Court ruling was especially important, as both defendants are the victims of the harsh youth sentencing laws. Joe Sullivan was sentenced when he was thirteen years old with a history of crime culminating in a questionable sexual assault charge. His judge concluded that he was beyond reform and should live the rest of his life beyond bars.
A New York Times Editorial passionately stated such sentences “should trouble Americans deeply, as should all of the barbaric sentencing policies for children that this country embraces but that most of the world has abandoned.” Despite the mounting psychological research and public outcry, Florida has sentenced 2,200 juveniles to life without parole.
Supporters of these harsh laws argue that criminals, regardless of age, should face the full penalty for their actions. That rationale is rash, and ignores the fragile, confused world that minors live in from day to day.
Since 1919, we as a nation have been honoring our veterans who have risked their lives to protect us during wartime. President Woodrow Wilson first declared November 11, 1919 to be Armistice Day in honor of World War I. Today, we celebrate Veterans Day to honor the 25 million veterans that have served our country.
Clearly, we live in different times than those in the early 20th century, but that does not mean that our veterans should mean less. There are no longer any parades or carnivals honoring our soldiers, but instead meager town ceremonies that commemorate the many years soldiers have committed to this country.
After almost a century of existence, many people would not even remember Veterans Day was still celebrated, if it were not for the reminder on the news or a small banner on the cover of the daily paper.
Although life does go on, Veterans Day is a national holiday, but for whom? The national government and its agencies shut down, but most other businesses do not. So much for a holiday for veterans since most veterans, if they’re not retired, are employed in the working world that does not shut down.
During the mid-twentieth century, our country was just ending a war in which most of our nation participated. Political views set aside, the country came together as one to build a strong base for those men fighting for us. Although current efforts are still made to help our soldiers, the question still remains if most of the country participates in these efforts.
We have become so enraptured with political ideology that we forget this national memory is not just for the Republicans or Democrats, but for everyone. All political parties should be disregarded, and we should come together as a solid nation to honor those who have risked their lives and made sacrifices for us so that we may sleep soundly at night. These people did so much for us, the least we can do is give them a celebration one day per year.
Evidently, not enough is being done to honor this national memory that has been around for almost a century. On Veteran’s Day, I saw an officer in uniform walk up to the elevators in Campanella when an entire throng of students exited and not one person greeted the officer with a “Happy Veterans Day!” Do we, as young adults, not know the significance of this national holiday? As the new majority of the population, will we carry on the tradition of Veterans Day as we grow older?
Surely, there will always be friends of ours in the military, but will you remember to give them a pat on the back and say thanks? Chances are, probably not. If it were not for the reminders, pre-written in planners, or broadcasted on the news, I doubt anyone would remember. It usually is not until the day after that we realize it has already passed because of the photographs taken and stories written about such ceremonies or events honoring our veterans from the day before.
I was pleased to find out that at St. Ignatius on Wednesday, November 11, it was a packed house to celebrate Veterans Day and the dedication of the new memorial built to honor the BC alumni who were killed participating in war. About 850 people gathered to celebrate this beautiful memorial and the people whose names are carved into the strong, black granite on the Burns Library lawn. Although this touching memory is a wonderful exhibition of our gratitude for those who have served, I hope that even if the memorial was not being dedicated, this many people would be at St. Ignatius anyway.
In order to preserve this national memory that has lasted for a century, we should set aside our political beliefs and say thank you to those who risk their lives to protect ours. Veterans Day should not only be once a year, but every day. All it takes is a “thank you” to show those in uniform our appreciation for everything they do.
“Working together for a safer community” is a motto for the Boston College Police Department that, we can all agree, gives a rosier impression to a police force that has not always fostered positive relationships with the student body whose job it is to protect.
The BCPD is unusual in that it is granted the rights of an actual police force and as well has the ability to exercise its authority outside of the Boston College area. Thank God for that I say. I think that Chestnut Hill and Newton need as many police as they can get. Please note my effective use of sarcasm.
The area that BC is located in is one of the safest I would venture to say in the country. So do we, the Boston College community, really need a police force of 51 “sworn police officers” that serves no real purpose other than… well, I guess I cannot think of even one reason.
Most colleges and universities have police forces that are established to keep the community safe, not to intimidate students while on patrol. The University of Southern California police force is a perfect example of law enforcement on campus. USC is surrounded by a not so nice neighborhood. Crime actually does exist in that area and so there really is a need for a police force. But this one is used to protect the student body from threats from the outside, not to instill fear in those who they are supposed to protect.
This Halloween presented some examples of the types of tactics of fear that prevent such positive relationships from developing. The Mods are a safe place for students (of-age students of course) to enjoy themselves, and the police are occasionally inclined not to roam the narrow streets in their patrol cars. However, this Halloween, not only were there patrol cars working their way among the students, but ones patrolling the outskirts.
They are not, I assure the reader, looking to prevent any hoodlums from the surrounding ghettos (sarcasm again) from starting trouble. They are on the lookout for their primary targets: students who they can stop, perhaps for a reason, perhaps for none at all, and in their words get a chance to, one-on-one, “develop a positive relationship.” This could involve a fun little trip to the infirmary. That’s if you are lucky enough though.
