THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010487
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE STAUNTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940601 LENGTH: PORTSMOUTH
The author, 17-year-old senior Malikah Wells, wrote Robb last October to sound off about violence and crime that have spilled into public schools and to urge policymakers to find better solutions.
{REST} Wells didn't expect Robb to reply in person.
``I'm glad he came to show his concern,'' Wells said Tuesday. ``I think some of the bad things happening in schools are a part of problems in society in general.''
Robb, who made Norcom one of the stops in his re-election campaign, offered few answers. Instead, he sought input from Wells and five other seniors and painted himself as a politician concerned about public schools, citing his efforts in Congress to channel more money to them.
Robb tried to connect with the students, asking a hodgepodge of questions about neighborhood violence, substance abuse and steps officials could take to make teens' lives less threatening. Some questions, however, showed that he is clearly out of touch with the so-called Generation X: ``Is hanging out in malls a favorite activity?'' he asked at one point.
Still, students opened up to Robb. One student described being jumped by strangers in his neighborhood and then shot in the head. Others described liquor stores that knowingly sell alcohol to minors.
At Robb's prompting, the students said they favored the senator's amendment to the federal anti-crime bill recently passed by the Senate and now under review in the U.S. House of Representatives. The amendment limits minors' access to handguns. In many Hampton Roads high schools, hand-held metal detectors, security guards and even some video cameras are commonplace. Two Norcom students suffered minor injuries in April when a fellow student's gun went off in the cafeteria.
The meeting with students preceded a news conference to announce Robb's endorsement from educators (see story, right).
Robb is stumping hard for the four-way June 14 Democratic primary and the fall election for his seat.
Robb sidestepped questions Tuesday about privatization, which is the most controversial school issue to arise in Portsmouth this year and has become part of the national education debate. Under privatization, for-profit school-management companies are hired to run public schools.
Robb said he favors ``looking at some alternatives.'' But he said he would oppose any plan that would take money away from public schools.
by CNB