The past nine months of this year have proven to be very deadly in Milwaukee. As the Marquette Tribune reported on Sept.15th, the homicide total has climbed to 90, surpassing all homicides for 2004. The City of

Milwaukee and Mayor Tom Barrett have tried to calm down an anxious community by promising increased police patrols and speeding up police training to fill openings in the Milwaukee Police Department. These initiatives are greatly welcomed. Nevertheless, more must be done to ensure the safety of Milwaukee residents. This initiative must come from the members of the community.

Violent crime is a very serious problem that not only results in the loss of a human life, but also the degradation of the community. In times like these, we must turn to social institutions in order to ensure they are fulfilling their duties to the community. Schools, churches, community centers, and most importantly families must come together and educate their children on the horrors of homicides. As murder becomes more glorified in movies, video games and on television, the challenges facing these institutions become more pressing. However, if the social fabric we weave starts to emphasize civic responsibility and stops marginalizing the loss of human life, we may start to prevent more violent crime. What we are offering is not a short-term solution. No, indeed it is a long-term plan that calls upon each member of the Milwaukee community (including Marquette and its students) to help prevent future homicides.

Some may take the attitude that these homicides are isolated to particular areas of the city; areas which they avoid, and thus should not be of concern to them. This attitude is the cause of the many continued problems facing urban areas across the nation. It refuses to provide aid and resources to places that need it most and ignores the cries for help. This attitude is against the values Marquette holds. Since Marquette is a premier institution in this community, it must take a leading role in showing other social institutions how to improve the society in which they belong. Marquette can develop courses that educate members of the community on violent crimes, better parenting, and civic responsibility. By doing so, Marquette would not only enrich the community it benefits from but it would also extend its mission of cura personalisto our neighbors.

This editorial was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 22, 2005.