THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606060170
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
LENGTH: 233 lines
The following questions were submitted by The Sun to Harry Young, president of Youth Entertainment Studios. The answers were provided by YES.
Q. What is YES?
A. Youth Entertainment Studios Inc. (YES) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower inner-city youth to become leaders of character, vision and action in their communities by challenging their creativity and equipping them with practical confidence-building media production and marketing skills.
YES employs the power and allure of the entertainment media as a tool to captivate the attention of young people and redirect them toward education.
YES works to form partnerships with high schools, media-oriented companies, community and church organizations and universities in order to effectively implement YES programs.
Q. What is its link to Regent University and Pat Robertson?
A. The YES mission is inextricably tied to education. As such, many of our board members and partners are involved in education on both the secondary school and university levels. One of our strongest relationships is with Regent University, a private graduate level institution, and its president, Dr. Terry Lindvall. Along with Dr. Robert Coles of Harvard University and Dr. Decker Walker of Stanford University, Dr. Lindvall serves on our board. Regent University has exceptional programs in both Communications and Education. Regent students have won Student Academy Awards and recently Todd Nelson, a Regent graduate and counselor at Oscar Smith High School, was honored by Readers Digest as an ``American Hero in Education.''
Aside from our partnership with Regent University in the Regent University/YES Media Center, and being officed temporarily on the Regent University campus, YES has no formal ties to the university. YES has no corporate ties of any sort with the Christian Broadcasting Network. YES is a separate, independent corporate entity which maintains its own 501(c)(3) status. YES is not funded by either CBN or Regent University. Pat Robertson is neither a YES officer, board member nor contributor. While Pat Robertson is the chancellor of Regent University, he has no official or unofficial role in either the management of the Regent University/YES Media Center or decisions made surrounding its funding, construction or operation.
Q. Where does its funding come from?
A. YES is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, funded through corporate and individual charitable contributions, grants, and corporate sponsorships of YES AMERICA Summer Programs. YES also receives in kind support for television, film and music production activities, graphic design, internet development and support, office space, and assistance from numerous volunteers and college interns. To date, YES has neither applied for nor received any federal, state, or municipal funding.
Q. Very briefly, what does YES propose in Suffolk?
A. YES proposes to partner with the Suffolk School System to launch after school-based YES media clubs in both Suffolk high schools in the 1997-1998 school year. YES is also currently working with the office of the superintendent of Suffolk schools to identify students to attend the 1996 YES AMERICA Summer Programs on the campus of Hampton University from June 24 through Aug. 10.
Additionally, YES proposes, in partnership with Regent University, to develop and construct the Regent University/YES Media Center on 35 acres of land at the former Naval Radio Transmitting Facility in Driver. The Media Center campus will serve as the national corporate headquarters for YES and the campus would become a home base for both national and local YES programs. The Media Center site would encompass television and film studios, two post production facilities, an office and classroom building, a cafeteria and a dormitory capable of housing 200 students. The studios will be constructed first and the dormitory and cafeteria will be built in the last phase of construction. The campus and YES programs will grow over time and eventually accommodate approximately 300 students, faculty and staff.
Q. Is there a plan and cost estimates? And do you have the money to finance it?
A. Due to the fluid nature of the re-use process, YES has a rough site plan and cost estimates. The Media Center campus will cover approximately 35 acres and, including equipment, is projected to cost between $12 to $15 million. YES plans to raise the funding for the entire Media Center project through a capital campaign over a five-year period.
Q. What would the city be expected to ``give'' YES? For example, would your property be tax-exempt? Would you expect the city to provide no-cost sewerage to your site?
A. YES asks only that the City of Suffolk ``give'' its blessing to the preferred plan proposed by the consultants hired by the City. Currently, the land is owned and controlled by the federal government through the Department of the Navy. A portion of the Driver site acreage will be conveyed by the Navy to the Department of Education and then on to a qualifying educational institution for use specific to their initial application. Regent University, Old Dominion University, and Norfolk State University have previously qualified through the U.S. Department of Education Federal Real Property Assistance Program screening process.
Both Regent University and YES are nonprofit organizations with specific charters. Activities consistent with those charters are eligible for tax exemption.
If Regent University/YES requires sewerage to the Media Center site prior to its availability to the general community, then Regent University/YES will be responsible for fulfilling its requirements.
Q. Would any provision be made that, should YES leave Suffolk, its holdings would go to the city, or that the city would, in some way, control their future use?
A. No. As previously stated, the land does not currently belong to the City of Suffolk but rather to the federal government. Ultimately, there will be an agreement between the U.S. Department of Education and Regent/YES stating the specific use of the property consistent with the initial application made by Regent/YES in 1994. YES intends to make Suffolk its permanent home.
Q. You say you want to enroll at-risk students. How does YES define at-risk students, and what criteria apply to their acceptance?
A. YES specifically targets at-risk urban youth with its program content. ``At-risk'' tends to be a term which means many different things to many different people, even in the education circles from which it derived. The context in which we use the term is as follows:
A) Youth who come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
B) Youth who are under-performing academically in relation to their potential.
C) Youth who are not convinced that a high school education is relevant to their present condition and, as such, do not value their academic experience as they should.
D) Students who are currently enrolled in school but whose school attendance is below average.
While YES programs are crafted to attract these students, YES programs, both local and national, are open to the entire school population. In fact, across the country, YES Media Clubs tend to be very diverse in terms of student backgrounds varying from honor roll students to those in Special Education, the wealthy to the disadvantaged, African American, Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian and other ethnic groups. YES considers each applicant to YES America Summer Programs on an individual basis and against the following criteria:
A) School performance. Students are expected to achieve a ``C'' average.
B) YES Media Club participation as determined in conjunction with club leaders and faculty sponsors.
C) Completed applications which include school academic and conduct records, student and family background information, video-taped interviews, student interest surveys, and recommendations from club sponsors, counselors, coaches and teachers.
D) Financial assistance, as requested, is based on a review of the completed student application packet and demonstrated financial need.
Q. What assurance can you give nearby residents that YES would be a good, suitable neighbor?
A. We offer our track record of performance at the schools we work with, both locally at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, and across the country at Carlmont High School in Belmont, Calif.; Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago, Ill., and Wilkinsburg High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. Our program has attracted the support of educators from Harvard University, Stanford University, San Francisco State University, Regent University, Hampton University and, most recently, Norfolk State University. YES and our staff also offer a host of personal and professional recommendations from local companies, corporate, civic and church leaders and, most importantly, testimonies from young people who themselves have participated in and have been helped by our programs.
Q. Would the studios operate year-round or just during the summer?
A. Between the usage for YES programs and Regent University activities, the Media Center campus will operate on a year-round basis. The heaviest usage will occur in the summer months.
Q. What benefits would Suffolk residents gain from having YES in the city?
A. Citizens of Suffolk and the Hampton Roads area will benefit in three principal areas:
A) Education - YES intends to launch, in conjunction with Suffolk schools and local corporate sponsors, YES Media Clubs in both Suffolk high schools in the 1997-98 school year. YES Media Clubs are school-based clubs, targeted toward at-risk students (but open to the entire school population), which use various media platforms as tools to reach young people and redirect them toward academics. YES Media Clubs are partnerships between schools, local media companies, local universities, community and church organizations, and corporate sponsors.
Many local students who participate in YES Media Club activities may be selected to attend YES America Summer Programs, intensive residential programs specifically designed for high school students aged 15-18, involving a unique blend of education and TV, film and multi-media production. Students who complete YES America Summer Programs are eligible to receive high school English credit. The mix of local students and students from outside the region will be determined by the growth YES experiences both locally and nationally. Currently, approximately 30 to 40 percent of YES America participants are students from the Hampton Roads area.
While YES employs various media platforms as tools to capture the attention of young people, YES programs directly promote education and character development.
B) Image - The Regent University/YES Media Center will draw national attention and assist the city leadership in positioning Suffolk as a progressive, thriving community. Indeed, the City of Suffolk would be home to the only two film studios in Virginia (Regent/YES and the former Atlantic Film Studios). Family films and television programs intended for national audiences will be produced on-site, enabling the Suffolk community to participate in the productions as well as attend public screening events.
C) Economy - The Regent University/YES Media Center will provide both job training in media production and a host of job opportunities related to the development and maintenance of a media complex. As a result of production activities on-site, the local economy will certainly be enriched.
We look forward to working with the City of Suffolk on the Regent University/YES Media Center. We are confident that it will benefit many Suffolk citizens. MEMO: LAND USE PLAN
SUFFOLK - Over the past six months, Alexandria-based consultant EDAW
Inc. has held several community meetings to get citizen input on re-use
plans for the 600-acre Radio Transmitter Facility at Driver.
The proposal that has emerged includes:
150 acres for Old Dominion University's environmental center
208 acres for a wildlife refuge
141 acres for a city park
63 acres for Bennett's Creek Little League
32 acres for Youth Entertainment Studios
YES - a Virginia Beach-based organization that is a partner of
privately funded Regent University - is a program that helps at-risk
youth.
YES President Harry Young said about 30 percent of the high school
kids selected would come from Hampton Roads. They could live in dorms on
Hampton or Norfolk State University campuses until dorms were contructed
at Driver.
Some Suffolk citizens have complained that they don't want a private
organization getting public land. Other residents worry that the kids
won't get adequate supervision. Young has assured that the kids will be
well supervised and YES will pay for any infrastructure needed for the
project.
A vote for the Youth Entertainment Studios proposal was delayed
earlier this month by the city's Planning Commission. The Commission
said it wanted to learn more about the relationship between YES and
Regent University. Planning Director Paul E. Fisher said the matter will
go back before the Commission and later be voted on by the City Council.
After Council votes on the matter, Navy Secretary John Dalton will
have the final say.
- Terri Williams, staff writer ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
THE WORD FROM YES
Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Oscar Smith students listen as YES volunteer Kenna Zemudkan talks
about a video. YES hopes to establish more school-based clubs such
as the one at Oscar Smith.
YES activities coordinator Kenna Zemudkan uses stick figures to
illustrate a possible video shot.
KEYWORDS: INTERVIEW by CNB