1323 Braveheart Lane

Charlotte, NC 28216
April 27,2016
Graduation Project Review Board Members
Harding University High School
2001 Alleghany St, Charlotte, NC 28208
Charlotte, NC 28208

Dear Review Board Members:

Hello my name is Kasin Alex. I am from Dillon, South Carolina and I am the youngest of
four. I live with my mother and her husband with my little ball of joy, my chihuahua, Precious. I
have attended Harding University High School since I was a freshman. My plan after high
school is to attend Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC. I am going to study Criminal Justice
and minor in Psychology.
The research topic that I chose focuses on the justice system and its strength in
punishment involving repeat gang offenders. My position on this topic is laws are weak in the
face of rising gangs . Though some people believe more help should be given to social service
agencies working with young people involved in gangs, some people may disagree because the
laws are weak in the face of rising gangs, cities sue gangs in bid to stop violence and gangs
contribute to most of the crime in the USA. My purpose was to inform the community about
gangs relate topic. By working on my research topic I gained the knowledge that gang members
are more likely to be arrested or involved with drugs and alcohol than non-gang members.
My product is an extension of my research paper because my purpose was to inform and
make the community aware of how big of a problem we face in the world due to rising gangs. By
reaching out to the community through making brochures which allowed me to go door-to-door
and give my neighbors and classmates the facts which made them aware of how big of a
problem that we really face. I also intern at the police department as a Police Explorer which
allows me to gain the knowledge in training that police officers have to go through to tackle
these problems that they face everyday. My product allows me to achieve my goal to inform the
community and make them aware.
What I have learned from my Graduation Project experiences is that this problem is real, not
only locally and nationally, but also globally. This is a problem that we face everyday in our lives
and we are blind to it. Gangs are one of the leading factors for growth of violent crimes both on
and off school property. 86% of US cities with a population of 100,000 or more report gangs
activity. The average age of a gang member recruit is 14. This has impacted me because Ive
learned how blind I was to this problem that was right in front of my face.

The biggest impact that this project has had on me is that my eyes are finally opened, now I
can finally see something that I was once blind to. Now I can see that this problem of rising
gangs is here and that laws are weak in dealing with these problems.
Sincerely,

Kasin Alex