ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606070072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
Millard Bolden once asked his 14-year-old daughter what she and her friends did when they went to a shopping mall.
"Oh, just walk around and see friends," she told him.
It troubled Bolden that young people would spend their free time wandering the malls, where there was "nothing positive going on, just a congregating situation," he said.
It troubled him again this week, when he heard about the Roanoke chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference calling for a boycott of Valley View Mall after a weekend incident involving teen-agers and mall security.
"If there were more for teens to do, like a building where they could go instead of hanging out, or a recreation building where they could go, these could be solutions for them," he said. "It needs to expand. Obviously, no one has taken the initiative."
As program director for the YMCA of Roanoke Valley's Family Center, Bolden can provide young people with an organized alternative to the mall.
Since January, the YMCA has held citywide "lock-ins" where 12- to 18-year-olds spend the night skating, bowling, swimming, playing basketball and listening to life lessons from guest speakers. More than 700 young people have participated, Bolden said.
Tonight, the YMCA will kick off the first of its summer lock-ins from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. Registration will be from 8 to 9 p.m. at the YMCA Family Center at the corner of Orange Avenue and Gainsboro Road. Students then will be separated - the middle school students will be taken to Booker T. Washington gym, high school students to the Jefferson Center gym.
Swimming, bowling and skating will follow throughout the night. Roanoke Mayor David Bowers is scheduled to speak to all participants at midnight, when all will gather at the Jefferson Center gym. Each lock-in has featured appearances by community leaders who address character-building, self-esteem, managing life and clarifying values.
This summer, the YMCA also will sponsor "Teen Night" twice a week at the Jefferson Center gym from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
"We're looking at providing activities," Bolden said. "They're saying there's nothing to do and that the only thing to do is go to the mall.
"Well, we're giving them alternatives. We're opening up our doors."
For information, call the YMCA Family Center at 344-9622. Cost is $5 per student.
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