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

DATE: MONDAY, March 26, 1990                   TAG: 9003262108
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Medium

GREEKFEST SUMMIT PRAISED BY STUDENTS, CITY OFFICIALS

A weekend summit attended by black student leaders, city officials and police forged hope for a peaceful gathering of mostly black youths at an annual Labor Day party, participants said.

Meetings at the Virginia Beach Resort and Conference Center Saturday and Sunday produced a reservoir of good will and understanding among students, city officials and business leaders, many participants said.

Youths clashed with police and looted stores during two days of violence at the Labor Day beach party last year. About 100,000 mostly black youngsters gathered for the party, called Greekfest.

Titled "Labor Day weekend '89 to '90 - Which way do we turn?" the weekend meeting drew about 70 students from as far away as Louisiana and Florida.

Students met with city officials and business leaders and reviewed recent investigations into last year's disturbances.

"I think it's producing a consensus that something positive needs to be done," said Sammie Glass, a junior at Virginia Union University in Richmond.

City hotels and restaurants footed most of the bill for the weekend, donating 35 hotel rooms and meals - convincing evidence, students said, that the city and business leaders wanted to know their views.

Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, City Manager Aubrey Watts and Norfolk State University President Harrison Wilson attended Saturday.

Students heard plans for the 1990 event and ideas to improve relations with police and upgrade the image of party-goers.

Glass blamed the riots on ill feelings built up in the months before the celebration and a lack of organized activities once students arrived.

Word about the conference and a summary report will be published in college newspapers and radio stations along the East Coast, said the principal organizer of the event, Arthur Jarrett Jr., a 20-year-old junior at Norfolk State.

"These people came to talk," Jarrett said. "In fact, that's why we're behind schedule. We've got some long-winded people - everybody wants to have their say. I'm really glad to see it."

One city official present, Public Works Director Oral Lambert, said the conference had changed his perspective toward black Americans. He said he had begun to understand why blacks might view police differently than whites, and their feeling of being slighted by a majority culture.

by CNB