THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606300051
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 100 lines
Of all the guest speakers who advised government leaders on how to boost citizen involvement last week, only one of them blew up a balloon while being introduced.
A red balloon.
Then he popped it with a pin.
The speaker was Scott Sachs, a 15-year-old rising sophomore at Kempsville High School. He was addressing a National League of Cities conference on its last day in Virginia Beach.
His message: Kids today feel increased pressure from parents, schools, peers and communities, but they need help in finding the right balance.
Young people want to be involved in improving their communities, said Sachs, a member of the Virginia Beach Mayor's Youth Council. But they want balanced opportunities that include guidance and structure, as well as flexibility, he said.
Then he used an orange balloon to demonstrate.
This time, he put a piece of tape on the balloon before sticking it with a pin. It didn't pop.
``The extra bond prevented the balloon from bursting,'' Sachs said. ``In a way, you adults are that bond.''
Sachs was one of many speakers who appeared at the three-day conference for about 40 mayors and city council members from across the country. The overall theme - ``civic democracy and responsibility'' - focused Saturday on ``involving youth.''
Many local governments are grappling with the negative results of not having enough opportunities for kids, conference participants said.
Young people may join gangs when they can't satisfy their need for community, said Richard Murphy, director of the Center for Youth Development and Policy in Washington, D.C.
Murphy blamed dramatic shifts in the nation's social and economic structures, such as grandparents often not living in the same community and parents too harried by work to volunteer for youth programs.
His organization calculates that the average child has 2,000 hours a year ``with nowhere to go and nothing to do.''
``Young people don't want a blank check, nor should they get a blank check,'' Murphy said. ``That kind of youth involvement or youth empowerment is actually adults relinquishing their responsibility.''
But the financial and political restructuring of governments, he said, often means less money for recreation. Meanwhile, many communities become ``fixated on fixing youth'' with jails and therapies.
``We guarantee every young person, every youth in this country, a prison cell,'' Murphy said. ``But we don't guarantee an after-school program.''
Communities need structured programs for kids, he said, but they also need ways to involve children with adults as fellow citizens.
Murphy suggested that local advocates raise public consciousness through low-cost programs such as ``YouthMapping.'' In a Hampton YouthMapping project, teens are surveying city businesses and agencies to compile information about opportunities such as jobs and recreation for kids.
Saturday's session produced other ideas for involving young people - and for removing barriers that hinder participation.
Sachs urged goal-oriented projects with clear tasks for each participant; good communications; adult supervision; getting kids away from household entertainment such as television, stereos and computers; and ``short-term time limits'' so youngsters can see the products of their work.
``A good, successful project will follow the `fast-food philosophy' - instant, short and sweet,'' said Sachs, the son of Warren and Karen Sachs. ``We teenagers are not as used to waiting for a hamburger at McDonald's, or waiting for the television to warm up, because everything is guaranteed to be fast. We grow a little impatient when we are first exposed to getting involved in community projects.''
Obstacles, he said, include not allowing ``kids to be kids'' or not having some flexibility in schedules.
Youngsters on sports teams should be allowed to miss some practices for time to participate in civic activities, Sachs said.
``Maybe a city could have one night each semester where the teachers assign no homework, sports practices and committee meetings are canceled, and youths are encouraged to attend a citywide function that shows them simply how they can get involved, how they can change things,'' he said.
Sachs commended Virginia Beach efforts that allow youngsters to help each other or work with adults. Besides the youth council, there also are a Youth Services Coordinating Council, peer-mediation programs in some schools and a Youth Appreciation Day.
``We're not anti-involvement,'' Sachs said. ``We just need help to get started.''
Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, who hosted the conference, said youth participation helps her ``rediscover my city through the eyes of young people.''
While Sachs demonstrated his points with balloons, other conference speakers - all adults - made more traditional presentations, using flip charts and overhead projectors. Sachs did have something in common with the consultants: He had to travel here from out of town. He's been away at a summer camp in Massachusetts.
For Sachs and others, the day's discussion proved the value of exchanging ideas.
Sachs said he planned to share some of Richard Murphy's statistics and concepts with other members of the youth council.
Mayor Oberndorf, who hugged Sachs at the end of the discussion, asked for a copy of his speech to distribute in city newsletters.
Anthony Capizzi, a Dayton, Ohio, city commissioner, said he will bring the youth council idea back to his community.
And Charles Lyons, a town selectman from Arlington, Mass., caught up with Sachs to tell him how he got his start in politics: running for the school board at age 18. by CNB