Business and community policies for, relations with students, youth
This page is brought to you by Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference and its website, www.hydepark.org. Support our work, join the Conference!
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Business and community policies for, relations with students, youthThis page is brought to you by Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference and its website, www.hydepark.org. Support our work, join the Conference! |
See views and analyses by HPKCC board members in Community Safety. See also the Kenwood Academy and News of Schools-Kenwood pages. Another business issue: People with Disabilities.
At the third Business to Business Security workshop, the Chamber of Commerce announced it will not recommend business place signs of rules in windows. The Chamber chose in May 2005 to:
Other suggestions proposed by the meeting:
Residents reported at the May 19 2005 Chamber workshop that McDonald's is calm though crowded at noontime now.
Here is what Kenwood reports it is doing to ameliorate problems (per vice principal at May 19 Chamber workshop):
- Stress to students consequences and what is expected, including outside the school. Year start week-long orientations by year cohorts.
- Hall sweeps and other checks to stop tardiness and loitering. Down to just a few students. (Note- has metal detectors and badge checks but with student body size cannot have card swipe, and while students are required to wear their color-coded badges during all school hours, this is unenforceable.)
- Staff presence and checks outside the building noon and dismissal time. Hanging around the building is not tolerated.
- Prompt graffiti riddance
- Strong security and guidance staff. Maintenance of adult presence and supervision
- Upgrading of outreach to middle and problematic students, including by such student groups as FOCUS and Brotherhood, targeting kids taken from failing schools or otherwise needing attention
- Increasing the academic challenge while making sure kids have chances to unstress. There are loads of extracurricular activities and many other students hang around the school until 6:30 closure to socialize.
Students of Kenwood wished to march May 19, 2005 showing the neighborhood their good grades, accomplishments, and prospective colleges. Due to serious neglect, the kids had to learn the hard way about weeks of notices to get parade permits, police coverage et al, so that it was not possible to organize such a march in this school year.
A Kenwood student in September 2006 accused McDonalds of Lake Park security of unfair treatment in expelling her from the restaurant for not having her ID. The owner and others have a different story of belligerence on the young woman's part, despite things normally having gone smoothly. The girl's mother faults the school for not turning any evidence over to her.
Police used to have to have secveral cars both at the school and at BP and McDonald's, especailly at lunch period and let out. Now one will generally suffice, and usually for presence and observation. calls are way down. Principal Elizabeth Kirby was given much of the credit.
The consternation and demonstrations that arose in March, 2005 after a Kenwood student was arrested and taken back to school in a police wagon for not moving from the already-full "student" section then in force at the 52nd/Lake Park McDonald's was not the first time there has been conflict over attempts by local businesses to dissolve real and perceived disruptiveness by high school and elementary students and other teens through rules that segregate or limit numbers/access of teens or students. Several sought to set up meetings with students and with businesses to arrive at some kind of covenant setting forth consistent expected behaviors and treatments by both teens and businesses. Others were skeptical that such a covenant would be acceptable to all businesses or that it could be enforced. In the end, the Chamber decided it would disrecommend signs in business windows or policies directed at students but recommend consistently-applied business actions in case of trouble as well as a number of other steps. (See top of page.) How to reconnect with youth is being pondered.
The most extreme example of student hostility to such rules and restrictions, if it happened, was the alleged trashing of a candy store that had a sign "only 3 students at a time" - although one knowledgeable source questions that this happened as reported or involved any Kenwood students. Also, McDonald's owner Yolanda Travis regrets the decisions of staff on the day of the arrest and has since rescinded the separate-seating arrangement, in fact the day before the demonstration. But she has pointed to a steady spate of incidents inside and outside the business and says she didn't know what else to do than establish the rule. There is strong feeling by many that Miss Smith's non-compliance was reasonable and a protest of policy that violates civil rights, especially when the store came up with what appears to be a very poor reaction to the noncompliance under the circumstances.
Still, Many believe there is a serious gulf between teens and the rest of the community. And this overlaps with fears about crime sprees, drugs, deterioration of the friendliness of 53rd Street, state of the schools, and lots more.
In addition, incidents and concerns, and a gulf between youth and adults goes back in this community before Kenwood Academy and were a focus in calls for Urban Renewal- which included calls for community youth centers and worries about concentrations of youth gangs. On the other hand, in conversations today, many feel there has been a genuine decline both in mutual respect and in the behavior and social skills of much youth. "Not my kid"? Take a closer look. Condemn whole schools--especially when so many kids from far away* come to the "Hyde Park Safe Zone" at noontime? No way! But see some background in the Kenwood section of News of Schools. (*A high proportion of the high performing students also come from outside, still, more and more are being forced here (or are attracted by better Kenwood) as poor schools are closed by No Child Left Behind.)
Many are disturbed at the conflation of 1) disagreement over appropriate customer policies especially as they involve teen behavior, 2) general relationships of youth (some living in the community and others not) and community residents and business people, 3) A whole set of problems with 53rd and its cross streets, 4) the wilding incidents by youth, 5) general issues (not entirely related to each other) with robberies, drugs, gangs, and panhandling. Also, it became evident to HPKCC board members that many of the basic facts regarding recent attacks need to be clarified.
Some suggest that the next step, beyond school assemblies, business briefings et al, is to to get the parties together to craft a covenant of mutual expectations: While businesses have to have rules, they should not target particular subgroups except at most extreme necessity, and there has to be reciprocity to the greatest extent possible given that juveniles necessarily are "in training" and so subordinate, so many have said. But others think such a uniform policy will never be adopted by all the businesses--even viewed as an insult, or that it could not be enforced or work.
The Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce has had three that came up with several approaches.
Summation by James Withrow, HPKCC board member and vice president: (early May)
"Apparently, the worsening
social climate led some businesses to change how they treated teenagers at lunch
time, including a separate seating area at McDonald's. On March 31st, a high
school student found no seats available in the separate area and took a table
in the regular area. When McDonald's security personnel told her to move to
the student area, she refused. McDonald's called the police and City of Chicago
officers handcuffed her and returned her to Kenwood High School. Promoting civil
behavior along 53rd Street means ending physical assaults and verbal harassment,
but not at the cost of stereotyping all teenagers as troublemakers. The Conference
will seek to find its role to play, perhaps developing a covenant among teenagers,
business people, residents, and the authorities."
Here are some reports and views on the matter.
Business policies for students under fire- Local businesses re-examine student relations after the Mc Donald's protest
Hyde Park Herald, April 13, 2005. By Kiratiana E. Freelon
To control teenage behavior, several Hyde Park businesses have introduced policies targeting high school students, such as limiting the number of students in the establishment or segregating them, as in the recent case at the 52nd Street and Lake Park Avenue McDonald's.
These rules came under attack two weeks ago, when police handcuffed Kenwood sophomore Catherine Smith and placed her into a police vehicle for refusing to move from a non-student section of McDonald's. The event sparked a protest led by Smiths's aunt, Melissa Hardris-Lacewell, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.
The event fueled a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cheryl Heads, 21st District Cmdr. Adrienne Stanley, McDonald's owner Yolanda Travis and members of the Kenwood administration last week. Harris-Lacewell said she now wants the Kenwood students to take the initiative to develop a covenant with local businesses.
"[The covenant] would talk about responsibilities of both the students and the businesses," Harris-Lacewell said. "We can develop rules together as a community that respect the rights for them to be outgoing young people."
Harris-Lacewell said she realized through the hate mail she received--some of which called the students "thugs and thugettes in training"--that there existed a wider chasm between the Hyde Park community and teenagers. "I had no idea how much animosity adults had toward young people," Harris-Lacewell said.
McDonald's Regional Marketing Director Rob Jackson, also a Hyde Park resident, said the entire community should look for solutions to deal with student misbehavior in public places and he hopes Travis can galvanize support from other businesses.
A bright orange sign, "3 students on the floor only," hangs in the entrance of Confection Affection candy shop, 1436 E. 52nd St. But on Thursday, April 13, around 3:30 p.m. more than 15 students, male and female, ignored the sign and entered the 250-square-foot store all at one time. "There were about 15 people trying to rush in and grab whatever they could get a hold of from the laffy taffy to the fruity chews," said Kwame Speller, a store attendant. "They bum rushed the place."
The students took more than $70 in merchandise, and left the floor strewn with candy. No one tries to steal money from the register, Speller said. Instead of running away from the store, the students casually walked away, Speller added. Maurice Jackson, the shop's owner, said he posted the sign last year to prevent thefts and have more control over the students. When asked if he would take the 3 students only sign down, Jackson said it seems unlikely after the recent event, but he might try one day.
Harris-Lacewell refuses to accept rules that target students, even after hearing about the candy store's plight. She said a more appropriate sign would limit the number of customers in the store, regardless of student status. "I think if we were talking about anyone but young people it would be obviously absurd," Harris-Lacewell said. "What if, instead, there was an enormous amount of peer pressure for students to behave well?"
Businesses looking for tips on managing relationships with high school students might want to look at C'est Si Bon, 5255 S. Harper Ave. in Harper Court. The cajun sit-down restaurant filled with cloth-covered tables regularly serves 100 to 125 students per day, according to manager Angela Broadnex. Despite a clientele that includes adults, the restaurant has never resorted to any policies targeting or discriminating against students, she said.
The February issue of Kenwood's student newspaper "Kaleidoscope" said C'est si Bon had "excellent" service toward students, while McDonald's rated "mediocre" in its service toward students. Broadnex said the students' good behavior stems from the respect she gives them. "All I do is talk to tem," Broadnex said. "I talk to them about their grades, what's going on at home, what's going on at Kenwood."
When any student gets out of hand Broadnex says she quickly puts them "in check" with the added help of other students. "The kids want to come here so they will keep other kids in check," said owner Renee Bradford. "They come in here and they interact with our staff and other customers in an appropriate manner. They don't all have to be out there cursing and loud." Bradford and Broadnex decided five years ago that they wanted to teach students how to eat in a nice restaurant, and so they developed a student discount menu.
Background on the McDonald's arrest and aftermath
A problem with too many students or not enough seats to accommodate overflow students in the student section of the McDonald's on Lake Park escalated out of control and or overreaction leading to handcuffing of a 15-year-old Kenwood student and her placement in a police wagon. McDonald's owner Yolanda Travis issued an apology and changed the separate seating policy actually a day before a large crowd of demonstrators appeared on April 1. Travis said the policy was a response to patron feedback. Many Kenwood students, and U of C sociologist Melissa Harris-Lacewell, say many Hyde Park businesses disrespect and discriminate against young people, even though this patronage is important to them. They agree that young people should behave as respectful students. Harris-Lacewell calls this a matter of equal access to equal spaces. Kenwood held an assembly in January on behavior in the neighborhood and business establishments, and some students are quoted as saying that behavior dramatically improved at McDonald's, eliminating any need for separate sections.
Kenwood LSC examines teen-business relations
Note: Kenwood administrators assert that the school was in constant contact with and supportive of Catherine Smith and her mother every step of the way from the first moment they were apprised of a problem--by seeing a police wagon roll up and a student out escorted into the school! Further, they assert that Ms. Tutwyler (Smith's mother) only asserted at the LSC meeting lack of communication with regard to one matter.
Hyde Park Herald, April 20, 2005. By Kiratiana E. Freelon
While Kenwood administrators and local school council representatives sat quietly, parents and community members last week debated how to curb bad student behavior in local Hyde Park businesses and whether stores should enact policies targeting students.
Three weeks ago Kenwood sophomore Catherine Smith was handcuffed at the Hyde Park McDonald's and place in a police van for defying* a policy that separated students from other customers. The event led to a protest of McDonald's by students and subsequently prompted the council to devote an entire agenda item to the issue.
During a debate that lasted more than an hour, McDonald's owner Yolanda Travis apologized to Smith's mother, Rolisa Tutwyler, and explained why she initiated the policy. She said that since her store's opening in September, it had experienced gang fights in the parking lots, frequent food fights and repeated vandalism.
"I had to do something, and that's all I thought I could do." Travis said. Travis also used the opportunity to call on the entire Hyde Park community to work to combat the problem of student misbehavior. "This problem is not specific to my restaurant," she said. "It is a widespread issue through the Hyde Park Community."
While many in attendance sympathized with Smith's ordeal and likened Travis' policy to pre-Civil Rights segregation, others pointed out that student misbehavior was a catalyst for the rule. "When you go into some of these public establishments, these kids are cursing and using the 'F' word. They're pushing and shoving... it's just unacceptable behavior," said Hyde Park resident Vanessa Aldridge. "I don't think that McDonald's should have to train these kids how to act in a public place. It should come from home."
Smith's mother took a more personal route and chastised the council and school administration for their lack of communication with her. "Since the event I haven't heard from one administrator," Tutwyler said. "I have yet to get a phone call that asks if Catherine is OK." Tutwyler added that Kenwood's administration was allowing to community to criminalize all children.
Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Smith's aunt and a leader of the recent protest, echoed Travis' sentiments and called on Kenwood to support its students in creating a covenant with the local businesses. Harris-Lacewell wants Kenwood students to uphold a higher standard of behavior and for businesses to treat them with respect. She added that she would reject any business that continued to discriminate based on identity. "We reject out right any policy... that would discriminated based on identity alone," Harris-Lacewell said. "On the other hand we respect the right of businesses to make rules based on behavior."
Kenwood Principal Arthur Slater said the administration is holding student assemblies to address student behavior in restaurants. "[The businesses] want to support our kids, but they want the kids to demonstrate appropriate behavior," Slater said. "We are going to work with those kids."
*Not complying with instructions by staff to move in accord with the policy--it is dispute whether Smith was defiant. Ed.
Chamber
of Commerce takes first steps toward understanding, resolution, but some taking
hard line.
Chamber seeks uniform teen customer policy, businesses reach out
The Chamber conversation was started at the Business to Business Security briefing on April 21, continued with steps decided May 5, and will continue in a special conversation with Kenwood students et al at Kenwood's UC/all-schools open house (open to Chamber members only) May 11 and at a continued Business to Business session May 19 (Coop meeting room 9-11 am).
Establishing relations and policies with teens, including for business operations, was only one topic at these meetings--see more in the current page in our Public Safety web section. It was noted that more than Kenwood high needs to be involved among schools in conversations and decisions, although Kenwood is the large and close school that also has a largely open-campus lunchtime policy. Kenwood and policing representatives also described actions being taken to fully inform students of consequences of actions and discourage milling/loitering in halls or (at dismissal time) outside. According to Kenwood vice principal McClellan, troublemakers are gradually being spun off from their tagalongs and dealt with in small settings. Enforcement is strict on arrival and departure times and there are color-coded badges students must wear including outside showing their lunch period. UC and transit police will have unformed and plain clothes policemen on buses especially for the 51st Lake Park bus stop at dismissal time. Extensive discussion was held about peer pressure and of the cultural, pop-culture and "policy" constraints to youth socialization and relations-- No Child Left Behind and consequent pushing of students outside their neighborhoods to good or not-as-bad schools such as Kenwood and Hyde Park High and the dismantling of CHA corridors with subsequent loss of tracking and social services were among the the latter. (About 60% of Kenwood students are from outside HPK, but not all of these are from the above-described segment.) (Conduct of many girls was generally acknowledged as markedly bad.) Businesses were encouraged to be proactive and welcoming, and those present were genuinely so inclined although frank about the problems with youth they encounter.
Steps to be taken on teen relations:
Chamber issues Business Security Guidelines in June, 2005
Chamber issues Business Security Guidelines in response to business difficulties
HYDE PARK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
5211 S. HARPER AVE., SUITE D
CHICAGO, IL 60615
PH: 773-288-0124 FAX:773-288-0464
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MEETING
Education and NetworkingBelow are guidelines the business community has decided to employ. These ideas were discussed in our Business to Business sessions, held on three Thursdays, April 21, May 5 and May 19.
1. Have a consistent, no tolerance policy. Should there be any trouble or threat in a business the owner/employee will call 911 and then the university police at 702-8181. No one will be forcibly restrained by the owner/employee. A complaint will be signed by the owner/employee of the business against the offender.
2. Signs limiting the number of people in a store at any given time can be posted on the door of the establishment; however, the Chamber of Commerce does not condone their use, and strongly suggests other methods be employed.
3. Business owners are free to conduct their business and admit customers in a lawful, non-discriminatory manner.
4. The Chamber of Commerce will look into bulk discounts, as a Chamber Member Benefit, for security cameras in the businesses. This avenue was recommended by the Chicago Police Department and the University of Chicago Police.
5. The Chamber of Commerce will look into bulk discounts, as a Chamber Member Benefit, for security systems in the businesses.
6. The Chamber of Commerce will work with Kenwood Academy on internships, desired unanimously, by the business owners, as soon as this summer.
7. Have a zero tolerance policy for panhandlers. Panhandlers who actively panhandle in front of stores will be reported to the police by dialing 911 and a complaint will be signed by the owner/employee of the business.The Chamber of Commerce has been proud to help our business community with the recent challenges in our community. We look forward to presenting Business to Business meetings throughout the summer, fall and winter to deal with issues such as counterfeit money, scams in the area and ways to protect ourselves and our customers during the holiday. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated on topics of concern.
More on the third, May 19 Business to Business meeting
Hyde Park Herald, May 15, 2005. By Kiratiana E. Freelon
....Village Foods Manager Barry Monroe had one suggestion. He said the 300 students who enter the grocery store everyday know what to expect if caught stealing. For the last 22 years, any student caught stealing remained in the store until a police or parent picked hin/her up, Monroe said. Monroe also uses in-store security guards to monitor customers.
For small businesses without security guards [this] is impractical. "I believe in zero tolerance but we have different styles of dealing with events," said Brad Jonas, owner of Powell's bookstore, 1501 E. 57th St., which has no security guards.
Chicago police officer Dennis Brown, 21st District, advised small businesses who cannot afford security guards to by security cameras. If something happens, we can go back to look at the footage, Brown said.
The Chamber of Commerce has chosen not to endorse signs on storefronts that limit the number of customers at any one time, board member Deborah Mahoney said. "The signs are very negative and the chamber is not going to support it," said Mahoney. ...Chamber members still have the right to control their businesses as they see fit, Mahoney said. But they cannot segregate a particular group... because it is illegal.
More on the May 5 second Business to Business meeting: Local businesses mull official conduct policy
Hyde Park Herald, May 11 2005. By Kiratiana E. Freelon
The Hyde Park Chamber of commerce decided at a meeting last Thursday to propose a uniform code of conduct for customers that area business owners can display in their front windows. University of Chicago Police Chief Rudolf Nimocks reiterated from the last meeting that Hyde Park businesses need to develop a document that spells out their rules for customers in their businesses."If each business owner is doing something different, that is not going to work, Nimocks said. "It has to be uniform, in writing and must be reviewed by school officials and we have to put it out there for people to see it."
ADT Security Representative Sabryna-Joi King suggested that Hyde Park adopt Oak Park's customer conduct policy, which is displayed in their windows and applied to all customers. "Their document is not directed at students but at customers," King said. "They call the police and treat everyone the same."
Although the chamber did not finalize the content of the document, several suggestions were made. Deborah Mahoney, co-chair of t he business-to-business committee that has spearheaded the last two security meetings, said that stores can limit the number of [customers] in their establishments. She advised that chamber against applying rules that target or segregate students.
Kenwood Assistant Principal William McClelland insisted that business owners call the police if they have problems with unruly students. Maura Jackson asked that students take part in development of the code. "You need to have the students in on it," Jackson said.
Business owners also voted unanimously to pursue an internship program with students at Kenwood Academy in order to establish a better relationship with them. Laurel Stratford, owner of What the Traveler saw, broached the idea of student interns at her shop. "I'd be happy to have a couple of qualifying kids intern at the shop to get some business background an to learn everything that goes into running a shop," [said] Stratford.
Carl Waggoner, general manager of Co-op Markets, said students could help seniors in the store's parking lot for community service.
On the first Business to Business meeting April 21:
Hyde Park Herald, April 27, 2005. By Nykeya Woods
Running 25 minutes over the one-hour allotted for the session, Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce members, the Chicago and University of Chicago police representatives, an participating resident realized they needed more time to find a community-wide solution to deal with teen rowdiness at a business security meeting last week. Therefore the Chamber of Commerce scheduled a follow-up meeting from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., May 5 at Co-op Markets, 1526 E. 55th St.
The meeting did answer the question of whether or not segregating students in businesses is legal. After several rowdy teen incidents, McDonald's divided its seating area in two, with one section for students and another for non-students. According to chamber member and attorney Deborah Mahoney, restricting students to andy particular area is legal. "They have the right to conduct their business the way they choose to," Mahoney said.
She added that restricting students in businesses has been an issue in Hyde Park since the 1950s. Several stores have restrictions on the numbers of students that are allowed in the business at one time. "People in this community have decided that this is how they have to control what is going on in their store," Mahoney said.
During the meeting, U. of C. police Executive Director Rudy Nimocks suggested that business owners find a cohesive strategy that would combat teen rowdiness and other business security issues. "The most effective thing that you can do is come up with a program, or recipe or formula that you are all going to adhere to," Nimocks said. "All of you have the same procedure that you are going to follow in order to take care of this problem. What that procedure is, I can't put my finger on."
Students need to understand that if they cannot go into one business and cause problems, then to another business and cause problems, they will be punished. He said for 15 years he has been hearing the same complaints about teens and feels this will be the most effective way to deter rowdy students.
Using video cameras was another suggestion Chicago Police Officer Dennis Brown felt would hinder rowdiness. "If you have something like that and the kids eventually notice something is there, that's a deterrent for any kind of bad behavior," Brown said.
Hyde Parker Camille Hamilton-Doyle blames the teen violence outbreak on a lack of after-school resources. She lives in the neighborhood and said her 17-year-old son is a student-athlete at Mt. Carmel. She is willing to pay for the training that her son needs for water polo, but every family does not have that option. "I had to put a basketball court in the back of my house...when I come home at night, there are so many kids on my basketball court playing... They can't go to Shoesmith Park and they definitely can't go to Reavis [Park] and play on that basketball court. There's not a basketball court from 47th street to 59th [Street] from Cottage Grove Avenue to the Lake, except the one on the lake."
Hyde Park Neighborhood Club replied with a listing of all the programs they have for youth.
Scott Chesebro, owner of Urban Life center and a former Kenwood parent rep., suggested that the chamber find alternative resources when dealing with rowdy teen other than police. He said that the chamber should work with Kenwood academy by hosting business fairs for the students. Powells Bookstore owner Brad Jonas suggested that the chamber should reach out to students through the school's student council.
Note: students (admittedly in the upper tier of their class) and administrators have told this writer (GMO) and an open house May 11 that conditions have dramatically improved since the hall sweeps and that many students are being mentored and motivated--but reaching all is difficult.
Hyde Park Herald, May 11, 2005. By Kiratiana E. Freelon
Students and faculty of Kenwood Academy high school are preparing to reconstruct the school's negative image--which they say was caused by the community's incorrect perception that only Kenwood students were responsible for a recent spree of unprovoked attacks.
A flyer for an invitation-only event at Kenwood... reads, "What is your image of Kenwood Academy? Find out what it is really like." In another event in late May, the Kenwood Brotherhood Male Student Leadership group will lead Kenwood students in a march around Hyde Park with signs showing their GPAs, future colleges and extracurricular activities.
"There is a bad apple that always tries to spoil the whole bunch," said Shelby Wyatt, a Kenwood counselor and organizer of the march. "The majority of students in the building are determined students."
At a safety and security committee meeting May 4, Kenwood faculty and parents lamented how the recent spree of unprovoked attacks, resulting to date in 13 arrests of Kenwood students from four incidents , have led the community to believe that the whole school is bad. "People have asked me 'Why are you letting your kids go there?' and 'You need to get them out of there'," said Sheila Wesonga, a parent representative on the local school council.
Kenwood Principal Arthur Slater attacked the community's perception. "We have 1,700 kids, You cannot take two incidents and 10 children and say we have a bad school," Slater said in reference to assaults earlier in the year in which 10 Kenwood students were arrested. "It's not a school issue; it becomes a community issue."
Slater also insisted that every young person hanging around Hyde Park is not necessarily a Kenwood student. "We have kids in this area who do things and they are not even students, but the hang out during the day," Slater said. "Because of their size and because they look much like us, [the community] automatically thinks they are Kenwood students."
According to Wesonga, youngsters from around Chicago hang out at Kenwood High School because of its social environment and its location in a safe and "relatively gang-free" neighborhood.
Police Cmdr. Adrienne Stanley said that other neighborhoods are experiencing similar waves of violence. "This is actually going on in all neighborhoods," Stanley said. "In Hyde Park it's actually being reported."
While watching a fellow student being hauled away by police after an assault on May 4, Kenwood senior Asia Pastaseio told the Herald she was fed up with the actions of her peers. "They are making us all look bad." "Not everybody is like this," added Lawrence Shaw, another Kenwood senior who had witnessed the May 4 attack. Shaw was critical of recent media coverage depicting Kenwood as a troubled school. "Nowadays the media does not focus on the good things we do. They don't focus on the teens going to school to be a nurse or doctor."
Shaw agreed with Slater's assessment that Hyde Park attracts students from all over Chicago. "Everything is focused on Kenwood, but it's students from Hyde Park, Dyett and Whitney Young [High Schools] coming to [Hyde Park]" Shaw said."But [the media coverage] is all Kenwood Academy."
TopFeeling that the actions of a few have tarnished their and the school's reputation and that "the community" has unfairly concluded that Kenwood is bad, students and the band and pom-pom squad, with full backing of the administration and teachers, planned an after-school march for May 19 down Lake Park and 53rd to Harper Court where there would be speeches about the students' positive experiences with the school. They planned to wear placards showing their grade averages, future colleges and extracurricular activities.
Leaders told the Herald they want the community to know they are productive and contribute to the community. Senior Troy Smith, for example, who will attend a university, said, "We have people that get straight As and do things for the school to make it better. But people are not seeing that because they are just going off the students who are doing negative things."
Herald editorial April 13, 2005: Opening the debate on closing Kenwood's campus
The Herald reports that 10 Kenwood Academy High School students were arrested last week in connection with numerous batteries and thefts that have occurred in Hyde Park since January. The South East Chicago Commission, which tracks crime patterns, told the Herald that 12 of these incidents have occurred between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., when sophomores, juniors and seniors at Kenwood are allowed off campus to patronize Hyde Park businesses.
The high school has an open campus policy for lunch for all students except freshmen during four consecutive lunch hours. In light of these reports, the Herald believers the issue of a closed campus needs to be raised by the local school council, the school's administration and the Hyde Park community. Closing the campus would prohibit students from leaving school grounds during the lunch periods.
The issue is far more than a police matter. There must be more the school itself can do, given that the school is responsible for its students at any time during the school day, even if students are off campus. We learned that some of the students have been suspended. That's a necessary step, of course, but the broader issue of discipline at Kenwood needs to be revisited. We are not dealing with teenage pranks. We're dealing with battery and theft.
Society grants teenagers certain rights that adults have, such as driving at 16 and voting at 18. The issue of an open campus is, itself, like a right; it's a right to choose where to go during lunch rather than settle for for the school's cafeteria. Teenagers wish to be treated like adults and wish to have the same options, in this case lunch, that adults have.
An open campus at Kenwood tells the broader community that its students can be trusted and can behave without supervision. It also gives the teenage student a feeling of responsibility, like an adult, to control his or her actions out in public.
Allowing students the freedom to wander about the neighborhood during their lunch hour means they should also behave like adults, which poses some challenges. Not all teenagers are rowdy, self-centered and impulsive, but some are. And not all teenagers assault and steal from random grown-ups, but supposedly some do.
A group of violent Kenwood students are making it difficult for the vast majority of students who do not abuse the privilege to choose their own lunch destination. They are also making it difficult for Hyde Park's business community which is always seeking to attract new blood.
Responsible teens
Responsible and irresponsible behavior also clashed at McDonald's recently when Kenwood Academy student and other members of the community protested that particular store's policy of separating students into their own section and its overall treatment of students.
The April 1 protest occurred two days after a female student was handcuffed and carried away by police for refusing to sit in the "students only" section. The protest was a way for responsible students to demand that they be treated like adults.
The policy came as a result of customers complaining that teenage patrons were being too rowdy and cussing during the noontime rush. The Herald has also received similar complaints that teenagers cuss and are disrespectful of older customers in and around the restaurant.
McDonald's has given in to students and eliminated its separation policy. It is now up to the responsible students to make sure that irresponsible students don't spoil it for the rest.
Students should find another eatery. Matther Milam
The McDonald's incident bothers me for a lot of reasons, some of them having nothing to do with racial politics or age discrimination. That being said, I'm pretty sure this will paint a bad picture on the location from now on and students will seek to ridicule those who choose to still go there because of the incident in question. However, this didn't have to happen for both parties if one understands some of the foundations of the Hyde Park neighborhood itself.
Catherine Smith, the woman who was arrested, needs to understand that Kenwood High school has a bad reputation for its students being rowdy in some of the restaurants that are near the school. Because of that, the best thing to do in that situation with the security guard is simply to move or find another location. McDonald's is heavily crowded during the time that the kids go over there and the pressure is on the staff and management to make everyone their meals and get them out as fast as possible.
Separating two lines for students and non-students? Come on ladies and gentlemen; they are kids. They don't care about that when they are hungry. Just give them what they want and don't make it an ordeal. To those of you who suggested that idea, I thank you. ...So for a person to do that suggests that a lot of people who were requesting that don't have andy patience.
There's nothing wrong with protesting this action. Just don't be surprised if all of a sudden you discover that there is no fast food restaurants later on in the near future. Why? They don't want to put up with the headache of trying to please both the people of Hyde Park and the students of Kenwood High Sch oo. It's hard to run a business and make money when people choose to act stupid everyday. While what happened at McDonald's isn't a fair way to address that problem, it certainly doesn't solve it in the future. I believe the divide is even greater now that this incident has happened.
I'm not in all of support of martial law when it comes to problems like that, but something has to be done to mediate situations like that without the use of the Chicago Police Department. If not, then the McDonald's should simply close. It's not as if the kids of Kenwood actually need that food in the first place...[we need] the art of cooking healthy foods.
Roderick Sawyer, April 20. Not lovin'it
....There is bad behavior that comes with any market segment, and in this case, it means bad teenagers. I believe a distinction is to be made that you treat your customers with respect. You treat your criminals to the door, or to jail.
When a marketing campaign is directed at he 59-Cent crowd, should we be surprised at certain behavior? I've never known it to be in vogue to tell customers, unreasonable behavior notwithstanding, what to do. There is an axiom in business that says if you win this argument, you lose the sale. Maybe because adults run businesses, we forget this when it comes to teenagers. Our livelihood depends on understanding our customers. Only a precious few of us will be able to dictate behavior, and only then to a certain extent. We have to adapt to theirs. I'd be lovin' it if I could change many of the behaviors of my customers....
...businesses that feel they deserve a break today ain't lovin'it. The march at the arches was the focal point for a range of area business practices that the students consider disrespectful, such as assigned seating, and signs limiting their number in an establishment. I have to say that I agree with them. You can't be lovin' the money without showin' some lovin' for the customers. I have spoken to several adults, especially those with young children, who were very supportive of McDonald's policy. I say fine, but show them the money by crowding the place out at lunchtime. The cash register ain't lovin' all t hose Happy Meals.
I am against those practices because they tend to fail the heat and light test. We saw that when the students put on some heat, and the media shed some light, the policy was rescinded. The proclaimed Rosa Parks of the Sit-down Restaurant also demonstrated it doesn't hurt to belong to the right family... For all of the protests of segregation, this is where the real discrimination will take place. The privileged will get the caution flags, and others will get the cuffs.
I want to say this to the adults involved: My parents were very careful about allowing me to win battles, especially public ones with adults, no matter how right I was. ... For the adults who don't understand this now, it's only a matter time before you become the target of their 'civil disobedience,' and trust me, you won't be lovin' it at all.
Last week, the Herald ran a story on how one business owner dealt with this issue, and is serving over a hundred students daily. The are to be admired and copies. It is my hope that we can creatively resolve these issues and others without resorting to signs, seating and security. It's in that day that we will all be able to truly say, "I'm lovin' it!"
Margaret Poznak Mine said "This is as bad as it gets." As a mother of a Kenwood graduate and a 15 year-old girl, she sympathizes with Miss Smith over her treatment at McDonald's but suggested he had other options. She says we owe it to youth to instill that 1) some rules are meant to be followed, others ignored or questioned and we need to be able to distinguish the two, 2) our self-worth is not increased by diminishing that of others. She says Ms. Harris-Lacewell is off the mark in rejecting out of hand limitations on the numbers of teens in a business. The reciprocal bottom line is, "All Hyde Parkers, young and old, have the right to walk in our community, to live in our homes, to attend our schools, and to patronize our businesses without fear or harassment."
Laura Casselberry, 15, Whitney Young student with Kenwood friends, says "I definitely do not think that I sound like a 'moron' and neither do my friends. Before someone classifies all teens as morons, do something to help the problem, because I am sure that anyone who is educated knows that calling names definitely does not solve the problem that is being discussed. Part of the problem of teen violence is that everyone thinks we are violent. When you tell someone that they are something over and over again they start to believe in that stereotype... All teenagers are not criminal; in fact most of them are not."
Sharon Brinkman says the schools are not doing their job and have requirements below those of 40 other states. She thinks adopting the governor's proposals for high school graduation would help re instill pride and sense of preparedness for life.
Gary Ossewaarde published the following letter in the May 26 Herald:
I have been upset, like the rest of the community, with recent upsurges in crimes and confrontations in the neighborhood, including along 53rd and adjoining streets. I have also been troubled that youth have been indicated in a fairly high proportion of these problems as well as in the with customer difficulties experienced by some (far from all) businesses in our community.
Some perspective is necessary here. While it is not my practice to criticize opinions expressed by others in a community strong in diverse viewpoints, I feel that some views expressed in letters have been both wide of the truth and hurtful to others. I share their hurt and concern, particularly that problems be tackled rather than denied. But does it help to tarnish whole categories of people, schools and student bodies? Such tarnishing hurts good people and makes it very hard for individuals, organizations, and business leaders to reach and apply solutions and open dialogue and engagement.First, I have observed and learned much lately about the strong positive side of Kenwood Academy, which I mention by name because it has been singled out for such across-the-board criticism. Word of this needs to get out. The website of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, www.hydepark.org has features on the academic strength and achievements today’s Kenwood and much of the student body, as well as recognition of problems, and a report on steps the school has taken to contain and correct negative elements and build on strengths.
Second, people should recognize that only part of the youths seen on our streets even go to Kenwood—students and other youth from a wide swath of the city choose to visit Hyde Park and the vicinity of the school especially at lunchtime in part because it seen as safer and more interesting. The many good students—who live both inside and outside the community—have been deeply hurt by the broad-brushed attacks and wonder how much of the community shares these views and why.
Third, there has been much improvement since the recently-intensified set of problems became public and been addressed by, among others, Kenwood Academy. Conditions inside and around the school improved due to recent steps by the administration and student body groups such as FOCUS and Brotherhood. Residents also report that problematic behavior in such establishments as McDonalds has much improved recent weeks. Are incidents, including attacks by teens on teens continuing? Yes, and there are endemic conditions requiring that these will be with us and have to be addressed for a long time.
Fourth, groups within the community, including but not limited to the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, are undertaking not just discussions but several positive steps to improve relations between youth and the rest of the community. These range from developing and promoting suggested sensible business expectations and responses to customer problems, an internship program, providing alerts and advice on patterns of crime or behavior regardless of what age group it comes from, assistance to businesses and victims, engagement with the schools, and revisiting providing more places for youth to go and play in ways less supervised but constructive.
In short, our neighborhood has some serious problems, or at least they are more visible at the moment. But we’ve had them (and worse) in the past and dealt with them, and other places need a lot more help. At the same time, there is vigor, growth and resources in this and surrounding neighborhoods.
The best answer, as in the past, is citizen involvement, responsibility-taking and mutual respect-- working together, reaching out, keeping perspective and recognizing subtleties, and strengthening our community organizations and institutions that build real community.
Brenda Sawyer cites in Herald conscientious and quality work by Kenwood students on a project for her.
Needing marketing help, she recounts, she contacted Coach Farris and Counselor Camille Hamilton-Doyle. The teens were dependable, completed jobs timely, were friendly in every venue. She hoped more businesses would give Kenwood students a chance. Top
WHPK's Che Turner hosts a youth-issue show, "Talk 2 Me"
This Hyde Park parent decided to do something herself--host radio show geared to ages 6 to 21 every other Wednesday between 3 and 4 pm. The show debuted in mid October. She doesn't shy from hard stuff such as peer pressure, image, pregnancy , dropping out of school. She is an experienced community center worker with a degree in family and child psychology. She says many teens fall through the cracks, especially when both parents work; many teens are misinforming peers or taking up with activities they are too young for.
The start of something big? 2000 young people from city and suburbs (incl. a South Side Caucus) meet gov, Topinka, Raoul, Duncan, pols at Rockefeller Chapel, activate PACT (Public Action for Change Today), to push or solutions to each area's problems, agendas....The pols' feet were held to the fire and they agreed to work with PACT on health care reform, financial aid, police reform, school funding.
Each region is represented by multiethnic caucuses. A crew os 10 or more, a caucus 100 or more. The South Side caucus had 180 there and will concentrate on improving relations between police and communities. Caucus co chair is Miriam Thiam. Kenwood graduate Aaron Bowen is a Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgendered Caucus organizer. Their goal is to work on ending homelessness, of whom there are 12,000 youths in Chicago with hardly any beds. Thiam's caucus will hold 2000 meetings by June with local police trying to change perceptions of and responses to youth. Bowen is set to meet with all 50 aldermen on homelessness.