MCINTYRE HEARS TEENS' CONCERNS

PEMBROKE - U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre heard an earful Monday about what's on
the minds of today's teens.

What are some of their concerns? The lack of parental involvement and
political apathy among young people were two of the issues discussed.

Students from across the 7th Congressional District talked about their
concerns during a youth summit at the University of North Carolina at
Pembroke.

McIntyre invited high school juniors from his district, which includes
Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, New Hanover, Pender and
Robeson counties. Twenty-seven students were nominated. Each had to write an
essay about issues facing today's youth. They also needed a letter of
recommendation from a teacher or administrator.

McIntyre, a Democrat from Lumberton, said gathering teen leaders to address
key topics was something he had wanted to do for some time.

"I feel it is very important to give our future generation of leadership the
voice and the forum to express their concerns,'' he said. "We so often talk
about our youth being our future leaders, yet we don't give them a chance to
express what their concerns are.''

The students spent about 15 minutes on five topics: lack of parental
involvement, political apathy, lack of knowledge about current events,
morality and integrity in youth, and illegal drugs.

The students said some parents are not as involved in their children's lives
as they should be. They said some parents rely on teachers, community
leaders or the government to raise their children.

The students suggested better communication between parents and their
children. They said those parents who are involved should pressure other
parents to take more interest in their children's lives.

On politics, the group said many youth don't get involved or they don't keep
up with current events because they don't think they relate to them.

They said it is important to talk about key issues to bring young people
into the political fold. They said it is important for young people to know
about current issues.

A majority of the students also said they would like to see tougher policies
about the use or possession of illegal drugs on campus. Drug awareness
programs do not have the same affect they may have had in the past, the
students said. The students recommended stricter punishments as a deterrent.

John Schronce, a junior at South Brunswick High School in Southport, said
the summit was a great forum for students to express their ideas in a
productive manner.

"It was also an opportunity to get together with our peers and discuss these
issues and move from being here to being able to make a difference,'' he
said. "We will be able to take these conversations back to our fellow
students and share these concerns and share some of the solutions.''

Tamarie Macon, who attends Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville, said
the summit was very informative.

"I really had a sense of the wide range of feelings about the issues facing
the youth,'' she said. "Hopefully, I will be able to bring back a fresh
outlook on issues and a wider perspective of what is going on in other
schools in the region. We really need to try to solve some of the
problems.''