Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 11, 1992 TAG: 9201110329
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ISHAMEA HARRIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TEENS SAY CURFEW RARELY ENFORCED
For people younger than 18, there are few places to go to hang out and have fun in Roanoke. And when teen-agers find a place - a fast-food joint, a school parking lot, a mall or a friend's house - they can be penalized if the clock has struck 10 p.m. and they're not home yet.That is, if the curfew is enforced.
"They've never enforced it on me," said Jay White, 15, a sophomore at William Fleming High School. "The curfew should be abolished. Nobody follows it. I've been out plenty of times beyond curfew and I've never been stopped. There should be one only in certain spots, like the housing facilities."
Other kids think if there has to be a curfew, the time should be changed.
"I think it should be extended to midnight," said Jermaine Ferrell, 17, a senior at Patrick Henry High School. "At 16, 17, people are getting to that age when they need freedom. Your parents set a later curfew than the city sets."
Another Patrick Henry senior, Stephanie Franklin, said midnight was a better time, because even school events run later than 10. And if you wanted to eat after that, she said, you'd be breaking curfew.
"It should be changed to later," said John Gordon, 14, a Patrick Henry freshman. He complained that he couldn't even walk to a store near his house after 10 without breaking curfew. He said people who vandalize property make life difficult for those who don't.
But Eugene Cook and Quinton Twine, 15-year-old sophomores at Patrick Henry, disagree with those who'd like to change the curfew.
"The way they got it now, it's working," Cook said. There are different curfews for different areas, like in the housing projects, he said. It has to be enforced, he said, to keep the violence down.
That's why his friend, Twine, thinks the curfew is working and helping the community. He has a cousin who was stopped once, he said.
"They took him home and asked his parents why they let him out so late," Twine said. "And they gave him a warning."
"If they extended it to midnight, I think it might get worse," Cook said. "After 12, people try to take advantage of being out late."
Taisha Clayor, 14, a freshman at William Fleming, said no matter what time the curfew is, it wouldn't be fair to everybody, especially those teen-agers who were doing something positive.