Stephanie Rodriguez
Stephanie Rodriguez is one of many Perth Amboy youth who is involved in making the community of Perth Amboy better. Whenever she criticizes someone or a practice, she always does it in a constructive way.
The reason I say she is one of the youth involved in the community is because we’ve had several articles and photos submitted not only about young people in Perth Amboy, but in surrounding communities as well who are bright spots.
We have written about Stephanie before. She is the founder of the group the United Messengers of Peace. From their Facebook page:
Their description: “WE ARE A GROUP OF STUDENTS THAT WANT TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY RESOLVE IT’S EDUCATIONAL ISSUES IN A PEACEFUL MATTER.”
Their mission statement is: We, the member of United Messengers of Peace, devote ourselves to making a difference in our community. We focus on the academic success of the residents of our town. We believe that education is the key to success. Politics and negativity will be unacceptable in completing our goals.”
Stephanie was recently featured when she organized the first Lung Cancer Awareness Campaign in Perth Amboy. We thank her for that.
At the 1/13/16 Council Meeting Stephanie made remarks that stuck out in my mind.
Stephanie was a student at Perth Amboy High School, but has been enrolled in Colonia High School for the last two years but her heart has never left PAHS.
Following is a synopsis of what Stephanie said at the Council Meeting: “I am a 17 year old resident born at Raritan Bay Medical Center and have attended school here, (even though not physically now). We have a low graduation rate (at PAHS). People fear the Police. We need to have a solution. Shootings happen not only here, but everywhere. I’m not picking sides. I speak in other towns. Other Police Departments are bashing Perth Amboy. I have to defend the positive aspects of Perth Amboy. We are what we repeatedly do. If we don’t focus on solutions, then Perth Amboy will always be considered a bad place.”
What Stephanie said is correct. Crime is happening in surrounding communities.
We cover the South Amboy Council Meetings, so we are aware of what residents say about crime there. The South Amboy Meetings are shorter than the Perth Amboy Meetings. Granted, I’ve lately covered mostly the Council Business Meetings, and I have another staff member cover the Council Meetings.
Another factor in Perth Amboy is that you have residents who attend 90% of the Meetings who are focused on bringing to light the negative aspects of the town.
This is their right. It is also the right of people who choose to reflect on what is positive about the town. In essence they both are concerned about the quality of life in Perth Amboy. It’s just the way they choose to go about expressing it.
If I have one concern. When you do have something negative to say about someone, please address that person by their name and not “that guy” or “her firm.” Show the same respect, even though you may not like that person or what they stand for. Address them the same way you did their predecessors. And that goes the same way for those on both sides of the podium.
In this case, it’s the young who are setting example for the elders. C.M.
