
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 12, 1990                   TAG: 9003122977
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MALLS CAN'T SHUT OUT SOCIETY'S PROBLEMS

THE PROBLEMS that have surfaced at Valley View Mall have little or nothing to do with the place itself. Racial friction and fights between teen-agers take place in cities and suburbs everywhere. They are simply more noticeable in a mall, and perhaps they can be dealt with more effectively there.

The truism has it that malls are the new main streets, the places where communities gather for all sorts of activities. Understandably, malls have tried to avoid many of the problems that plagued older gathering places. In doing so, they may have gone too far. They now attempt to be mediocre in an active, positive sense.

In a mall, nothing is too bright or too dark, too loud or too soft, too warm or too cold, too expensive or too cheap, too challenging or too dull. When any disruption occurs in that kind of narrow environment, it calls even more attention to itself. The disruptions at Valley View fall into two categories: (1) kids and teen-agers who congregate and use the mall as a hangout, and (2) antagonism between black customers and white security guards.

There's little to be done about the first matter. It's easy to criticize young people for goofing off and wasting time; for generations, adults have been griping about kids' habits. Ice-cream parlors, pool halls, pinball arcades and now video arcades have been the focus of parental disapproval. Malls didn't create that situation, and they really can't be criticized for being oversolicitous to younger shoppers. Malls are oversolicitous to all shoppers.

As for the second matter: If the mall's racial problems cannot be solved completely, they can be made better. Friction can be eased between predominantly young black patrons of Valley View and the predominantly white security guards. There is every reason to believe that mall management is aware of the problem and is sensitive to legitimate criticism concerning past overzealousness by security guards. Representatives of Valley View and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have met and talked to each other, and they plan to continue. That's the best thing they could do.

So far, there have been relatively few incidents at Valley View. But, perhaps because of its location, the mall has become a focus of racial tension. Even so, the situation has not deteriorated to the point where it cannot be fixed. If the mall management, NAACP leaders, parents and schools work together, they can turn things around. The right moves toward understanding and tolerance could make the difference between growing bitterness and growing acceptance.

Also, it's time for the security guards to realize the importance of their jobs, and to act with the extra restraint and forbearance that teen-agers often lack.

Even though malls try to eliminate every unpleasantness, customers must realize that's impossible. People don't change when they walk through the glass doors. All of society's problems can't be kept on the far side of the parking lot.

by CNB