NO PLACE TO DRINK, NOWHERE FOR 100 KIDS TO HANG OUT

Another call to the police from annoyed neighbours.

As on the previous weekends, a large and rowdy group of teenagers has
gathered in a near by park. The cops come, we scatter, and only an array of
beer cans is left as a reminder that we were once there.

Twenty minutes later, there's another call to the police. We have stationed
ourselves in another nearby park. For at least another hour, we know we are
safe from the cops and their fines.

Our main fear is the steep fine for being drunk in a public place. Does this
deter us from drinking?

No. When the cops show up, do we go home and do our homework?

No.

We just go elsewhere.

Maybe that's the problem. Kids from highly populated neighbourhoods
generally all hang out together.

Where do 100 kids go on a Saturday night?

Even at house parties, it's just a matter of time before someone complains
and we are forced to move. So, for the millionth time, we have to move
somewhere else, more often then not outdoors.

Why do we subject ourselves to freezing temperatures or amazingly
overcrowded houses? Because there is nowhere else to go and, damn it, we
aren't staying in on the weekend. That's the fact of the matter.

We have no place to drink, nowhere to hang out and nothing to do.

This is our community's responsibility -- to give us a place to go --
because apparently the "party patrol police" just aren't cutting it.

We aren't afraid of their authority and don't abide by their rules. As far
as safety is concerned, the community should supply some sort of area where
drinking is permitted, where you can be as loud as you please and where
there are volunteers who ensure that no one drives home drunk. They would
also be able to monitor problems that may arise in the course of an evening.

Although this seems unlikely, I'm sure if a place was supplied parents
wouldn't have a problem volunteering for a few hours once in a while.

We aren't going to stop going out on our weekends (and teenagers don't learn
very easily). Although the majority of teens are intelligent about DDs
(drunk driving), I can't account for everybody.

You must keep in mind that it's not only teenagers who are out causing a
ruckus, so cut us some slack.

We could all save ourselves a little grief if you guys could just give a
little leeway on the weekends.

Let us enjoy our youth while we still have it.

Heather Hadley is a Grade 12 student at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School in
Surrey. She enjoys snowboarding and writing and wants to be an
environmentalist.

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