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Yesterday, under beautiful blue September skies, the Red Raider’s freshmen team faced their first opponents, the Nashua Panthers. The game was fraught with numerous interceptions, fumbles, and tackles on both sides, as might be expected from the novice teams. As seasoned spectators noted, “That’s freshmen football.” Dressed in my favorite purple color (as usual), I was horrified when I got to the game and realized purple was the Nashua team’s color.  Thankfully, math teacher and equipment manager, Chuck Bolianities, brought me a Lowell hat to wear so there would be no question about my loyalties. Even though the Red Raiders didn’t win: final score Panthers 27, Red Raiders 8, our team played a great game to launch their first season.

Don’t complain if you’re not willing to be part of the solution. Next month will be the anniversary of the City Manager’s Gang Advisory Board, which includes Lowell leaders from the schools, colleges, police, city, and youth groups, as well as the district attorney’s office and the Sun. The group has been meeting monthly for a year to develop ways to address the gang problem in Lowell. At its most recent meeting on Monday, the board decided to mark its anniversary by hosting a forum to discuss the group’s efforts, accomplishments, and future goals with members of the community. The forum will be held the first week in November at MCC (exact date/time to be determined). At this public meeting, the board will share its work around gang prevention, inform the community how it can be involved (vital for lasting success), and listen to citizens’ concerns and suggestions. As a community, we must work together to reduce the impact of gangs and youth violence on our city. The reality is that gangs are with us and police suppression can only go so far; for instance, this summer there was a marked decrease in gang violence compared to last summer—a fact which Police Superintendent Lavallee attributes to increased police patrols (paid for by the state-funded Shannon Grant) and more summer jobs for youth (a result of the city manager’s efforts to recruit local businesses as employment partners). These short-term improvements are encouraging, but lasting solutions will require a multi-pronged approach with efforts involving not only law enforcement, but also education, community support, jobs, social services, the courts, and yes, citizen engagement. To find out how you can help, watch for the date, and attend the forum.

The photo above shows Lowell’s Red Raiders as they are about to kick off to Taunton after scoring a touchdown within the first 10 minutes of play. The final score: Lowell 14; Taunton 7 doesn’t do justice to the aggressive play the Red Raiders demonstrated last night, including several interceptions. As a special tribute and omen for the season, the game started with the introduction of the undefeated Red Raiders team from 1967.  What a great night for a game! For a peek at some of the newest faces to LHS football–the freshmen players, see here: more »

I read with interest the Sun’s article in Saturday’s paper about parents being required to attend a two-hour class as part of new regulations for junior drivers that also increased the hours of supervised driving time. I was aware that during their first six months of driving, junior drivers cannot transport passengers under 18 years of age unless they are siblings. I was not aware, however, about the zero tolerance policy until just recently, when I learned about one Lowell teen’s experience. This young woman is 17 years old and an honor student at LHS—a nice, responsible kid, who is also involved in sports (not that any of this matters in terms of her driving). She was stopped for speeding last spring because she was going 8 miles over the speed limit on Varnum Avenue. She appealed the ticket, lost, and was required to pay a $100 fee, which resulted in two points being added to her insurance rating for the next six years. My insurance agent informs that because it was her first offense, the two points will not increase her premiums, but will make her ineligible for discount credits good drivers earn. Later, the young woman received a letter in the mail informing her that her license is suspended for 90 days and that she is required to attend two courses: a driver attitudinal retraining class and a state course against road rage. She will also have to retake her written and road driver’s tests and pay a $500 reinstatement fee. Needless to say, the young woman and her family are reeling from these penalties. According to the Registry’s website, 33% of all 16-year-old drivers and 19% of 17-year-olds will be involved in a serious crash. As my insurance agent explains it, the state is serious about curbing teen driving fatalities, and the increased penalties are one way to get junior drivers to understand this. As a parent of a 14-year-old, the issue of teen drivers is on the near horizon for me, but it is also one that impacts us all. So, what do you think? Has the state gone too far? 

Every two years, City Councilor Kevin Broderick and his wife Julie open their home to the community and host an elegant fund raiser in support of our local Boys & Girls Club. This year the theme was Hawaiian and as you can see from the photo, many guests got into the spirit of the event, which was held poolside on a balmy August evening and featured the most incredibly delicious appetizers, including my particular favorite: coconut shrimp. The Brodericks support the club because they know how important the organization is, not only to the youngsters who have a safe place to play and learn after school, but also to our community. Ask anyone about programs serving at-risk youth and the organization most people immediately think of is the Boys and Girls Club. Yet in Lowell, the club is hurting financially. In the last six years, the number of youngsters using its programs and facilities has increased from 1,000 to 4,000, yet its operating budget has remained the same—this funding crisis has resulted in the recent layoff of three key staff members. We can’t all be super heroes saving the world one troubled teen at a time, and we can’t all be like the Brodericks opening our homes to the community in support of a great cause; We can, however, all open our wallets and give something to make sure these vital programs continue to help our youth and our community. And in doing that, we help ourselves. Mail donations to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, 657 Middlesex Street, Lowell, MA 01851 or check their website for more information.

I always wished the Lowell Public Schools would assign books for summer reading.  I think they are doing it now, but as with many of the positive changes in the schools, it happened too late for my family. So, I was excited when my son was assigned a book for summer reading before starting college as a Freshman.  He had to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.  I read it as well and rather liked it.  He didn’t seem impressed, perhaps because he felt that the book was geared toward younger readers.  I disagree with him as can be seen by my review of the book.  The college provided a list of readings and other reviews for students to work on before starting school. Here are some links to reviews from the New York Times and an online magazine called Plus.

It’s hard to believe that school will be starting up in a couple of weeks, but here’s an event to help kids ease into the new year. It’s a Back to School Party on Saturday, August 25, 12-2 pm in the Lowell High Cafeteria.  It is sponsored by Gear Up, the Lowell Police Department and the Lowell Alliance for Families and Neighborhoods and students of all ages and from all schools are welcome to attend. There will be music, food, karaoke, face-painting, games, raffles and information on how to have a successful school year.  (The raffle prizes look great, including gift certificates and backpacks loaded with school supplies.)  For more information, call 978-454-5405, ext. 137.

Dance 4 Peace,  held at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium last night, was started in 1996 when young people in Lowell got together to try to do something about violence in their community. With the help of area agencies, they created and produced an event that is still going strong twelve years later. More than 800 young people helped in the organization, the audience was filled with their friends and peers, most wearing green Dance 4 Peace t-shirts, and all the performers were young people from the area.  The acts included jazz and belly dancing, rap and funk music, and more.  A well-produced powerpoint presentation featured planning committee members visiting Boston’s Garden of Peace and shows a close-up of the stone dedicated to Quoc Bao Le, an outstanding student, graduate of LHS, UML business student and youth leader who was murdered in 2001. The young MCs called for a moment of silence in memory of Quoc Le and other victims of violence, including those from the Virginia Tech massacre, and announced that all proceeds from the event would be donated to Quoc Le Scholarship Fund.   The presentation ended with this quote:

“Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.” -Spinoza

Dance 4 Peace is supported by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lowell, Lowell Community Health Center, the United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) and the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. 

There are many ways to excel at Lowell High School and many opportunities to demonstrate your strengths: one of them happens to be athletics. During the 2006 school year, 11 LHS seniors received athletic scholarships totaling $520,000. That’s a lot of money going to students who excel at wrestling, football, girls softball, cross country, basketball, hockey, girls basketball, track, and crew (three students got crew scholarships). Not only are our athletes succeeding, but the number of students participating in sports has also grown. Consider this: In ’06, there were 132 senior athletes (94.7% of whom went on to some post secondary education experience) and by ’07, the number of senior athletes had risen to 176 students—a 33% increase.

While at the library with my daughter earlier this summer, I decided to get a book for my son from the LHS freshmen summer reading list. He took one look at the title, The Secret Life of Bees, read the jacket, and promptly announced it was “a girl book” and he wasn’t reading it. His snap judgment annoyed me. Why is it a girl book simply because the protagonist is a girl? I admit, I found the story compelling, but I guess it does sort of focus on forgiveness, acceptance, and inner healing, and some folks might see that as girlish. But there is also the matter of the mother’s death involving a gun, which the daughter struggles to recall throughout the novel, as well as the tension of being set in the South during the civil rights movement. Full disclosure: Okay, everyone I asked agreed with his assessment, but most had not actually read the book. Regardless of gender, this is a wonderful read, and I highly recommend it—even if you’re not a girl or a freshman. (See book review page for details.) Also note: At his request, I have since bought the latest Harry Potter book, which he is reading happily.