"The mall like did whattttt ?"
Posted on 04/20/2005 7:31:05 AM PDT by kingattax
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - Every kid knows hanging out with Mom or Dad can be kind of a drag. Kids who want to spend time at the Pheasant Lane Mall on Friday or Saturday nights might not have a choice.
In response to recent "disorderly and disruptive" incidents, mall security two weeks ago started distributing fliers outlining the mall's "general code of conduct," according to mall Manager Ginny Szymanski.
From 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, mall security guards now stand outside two entrances to make sure anyone under 16 has a parent or someone over 21 with them.
"That's when we approach them and give them a copy of the code of conduct and ask the parent to come in with them," Szymanski said.
She said the code - which outlines 13 rules governing acceptable conduct and clothing, among other things - will be enforced by security.
Szymanski said the mall rules have always been in place and posted, but the fliers were printed two weeks ago in response to the large groups of teenagers who have been hanging out - not shopping - at the mall on Friday and Saturday nights.
If the parent can't accompany the child during those times, they are asked to take the youngster home, she said.
If kids are found to be disrupting the mall's business, Szymanski said they will be escorted to the command center to call a parent to pick them up.
"We're not out to punish anyone," she said. "We're just trying to better manage the shopping experience."
Shoppers interviewed by The Telegraph didn't seem too thrilled by the code of conduct, though.
"I feel as though if I want to drop my kids off, I should. They're responsible," said Leann Newcomb of Lowell, Mass., who was shopping Monday with her 15-year-old daughter, Ashley.
Ashley agreed.
"I can come here and I can be fine without my mom," she said.
Stacey Donovan of Tyngsborough, Mass., said she always has considered the mall a safe haven for people.
"God knows what they'll be doing if they're not at the mall," she said. "To say it's not allowed is not the right answer. Let them have their place."
Not every New Hampshire mall has problems with kids' behavior. Scott Payrits, senior marketing manager at the Steeplegate Mall in Concord, said kids come to his mall to shop, not to cause trouble.
"We do not have any sort of problem with disruptive incidents, especially with kids," he said. "We have very good public safety. We don't have the need for a children-specific code of conduct."
One of the rules at Pheasant Lane prohibits dress "commonly recognized as gang-related."
Szymanski said the mall doesn't have a gang problem, but that people with certain attire - such as long chains that fall below the knee or studded dog or wrist collars, all of which can be used as weapons, she said - will be asked to remove them. If they don't comply, they will be asked to leave the mall, she said.
Leann Newcomb questioned the rule.
"They sell that stuff," said Newcomb. "How are they going to tell the kids after they buy that stuff not to wear it? Isn't that a violation of your constitutional rights?"
The problem with that is: It's NOT their place! The Mall belongs to its owners and the stores that rent space within them.
Call me crazy, but teenages have no business just "hanging out" in large groups ANYWHERE without responsible adult supervision.
The prices they charge, I'm not surprised!
"The mall like did whattttt ?"
My opinion of the policy really doesn't matter - the Mall is private property and the owner/management have the right to set the policies as they see fit.
If it were a government implemented policy I would be having a fit - whether I agreed with it or not.
That tremendous moan you just heard was the ACLU having a collective orgasm. This won't last long.
I think you're right. I can hardly see kids under the age of 16 getting into gang violence at the mall.
they have a flock of lawyers working on it as we speak, you can bet on it.
I dunno. Most of the shops seem to cater to teeny-boppers anyway. That's probably where the majority of the business comes from.
Flame away if you want...but if they're going to be this "police statist" about who gets into a mall (yes, yes, I know mall ownership has every right to do this bear with me here)...why not take it to the next level and have local LEO's (or whoever has the appropriate power here) and round up all suspected gang members under the guise of being enemy combatants?
A few months of that will quickly solve the problem of wanna-be thugs and the thugs themselves. Personally...I'm sick and tired of neighborhood after neighborhood being degraded, dismembered, and rendered void of decency and safety by this glorified thug culture.
Except that this will only really matter on Friday and Saturday nights (at least during the school year), and how many adults do you know who like to wander the mall (especially the Pheasant Run in Nashua) on a Friday or Saturday night? There are better things for adults to do at those times. This will kill the Pheasant Run. I've been there, and nearly half the stores there are aimed at teens. If they can't hang there, they'll go down to the Burlington (which is bigger and better anyway, even if it is a bit further).
Assembly Sq. Mall in Somerville MA had had it with the Asian and Hispanic gangs terrorizing the customers, so they had security toss them. A Massachusetts judge (bwa ha)said this was a violation of their right to Freedom of Assembly. Now, there is no Assembly Sq. Mall.
DUnno - maybe at your mall. Around here, the folks 18-21 are out causing trouble at other places (other than the gang-banger on recruiting missions). The big trouble are 12-18 year old punks terrifying old folks, ripping off businesses, and generally being a pain.
One of my favorite malls is an outdoor mall in north Phoenix. Beautiful, upscale, but on weekend nights, when hoards of teenagers swarm the place, we stay away.
My son (16) was arrested a couple of years ago for fighting at the local mall. The cops called me at home and told me come down to the station and pick him up. I told them they could keep him, they ended up delivering him to my door....
I mentioned food courts in particular, because demographically, teenage mall goers are their bread and butter.
Malls as babysitters? These parents are crazy!
You forgot Haverhill.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.