THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610060052
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 107 lines
At the Hicks Academy of Beauty, LaToya Jenkins expected to learn about hair styling, facials and manicuring.
But never about registering to vote.
So Jenkins and about 30 other students were surprised Friday when the morning lesson turned from baldness to balloting.
``Does everybody know what voter registration is?'' asked Gladys Patterson, who teaches cosmetology theory. ``It's your right as a citizen of the United States, and there's a presidential election coming up.
``Why should we be interested in who we elect as president? We are working people. Aren't we? And we have a lot of say-so. Don't we?''
Over the next 25 minutes, Patterson led her class in a discussion about the importance of voting and how to register.
Patterson reminded the class that 5 p.m. Monday is voter-registration deadline for the November elections. She asked some students to leave early so they could register.
``You can't use this as an excuse,'' she said. ``You've got the time.''
Those who leave school to register must return Tuesday with proof ``or I'll be very mad,'' Patterson said. The school also allows time for students to vote on Election Day, she said.
On Friday, about six students raised hands to signal they were not registered to vote. Jenkins was among them - and she promised to do so before the day ended.
Jenkins, 19, of Chesapeake, said she never registered ``probably because there wasn't anybody to push me to go and vote and tell me that it's my right and just to go out and act on it.''
Over the years, Patterson and Margaret Hicks, the academy's founder, have encountered many students like Jenkins. That's why they mix voter registration and other civics lessons with traditional sessions such as permanent waving, hair cutting and skin care.
It's not a fad for them. It's been part of the curriculum since she opened the academy in 1951, said Hicks, 81.
Ann Washington, Norfolk's voter registrar, said she has not heard of any other business or trade school that goes to the extent that Hicks Academy does.
Hicks has long believed that all citizens need to be interested in politics and community affairs. She urges her students to get involved in PTAs or seek other volunteer opportunities.
``You've got to feel a part of the community before you can become interested in voting,'' Hicks said. ``But you've also got to vote and keep voting to give yourself incentives for staying involved.
``And, if you don't vote, then you should keep your mouth shut.''
Young people now, Hicks said, are no worse about voting than they were 45 years ago. She recalled one class in which only two of the 50 students were registered to vote.
Heart problems have forced Hicks to curtail her teaching. So Patterson leads many of the civics lessons along with her other duties, including directing financial aid and admissions.
Civics with Patterson goes beyond voter registration. Cosmetology theory, which starts at 8:15 a.m., includes a 15-minute warm-up on current events.
``It's about anything they saw in the newspaper, some of the crime in our communities, just what the world is coming to,'' Patterson said. Patterson likes students to talk about current events because ``it expands their minds'' and helps teach them the arts of conversation necessary for working in beauty parlors and barber shops.
``Our first emphasis is on talking with the client about hair and skin,'' she said. ``But you also have to know current events so you can talk with your clients intelligently, and it builds confidence.''
Patterson, 48, of Smithfield, said she grew up on a farm where talking about farming issues and politics was important. Her first job as a hair stylist got her further involved, because one of her clients ran for office.
At the Hicks Academy, voter-registration lessons include some mention of child care, health care, abortion, welfare, education and tuition-aid programs. ``Those are the issues that affect about 90 percent of my students,'' she said.
On Friday, as Patterson helped students see connections between politics, governmental policies and elections, students began asking how to reach members of Congress and how to research voting records.
But students also voiced frustrations about politicians.
``A lot of it seems like lies. A lot of people say they're going to do stuff, but nothing really ever gets accomplished,'' said Katina Yates, 20, of Virginia Beach.
She remained undecided about registering to vote. ``I'm going to give it a lot of thinking,'' Yates said. ``I still have until Monday.''
And Shaveeta Jones, 25, of Chesapeake, said she was registered but not motivated. ``They give us a choice of only three men to choose from. But we really don't know those men. We only know how they show up on TV,'' Jones said of the three leading candidates - President Clinton, Republican Bob Dole and the Reform Party's Ross Perot.
But LaToya Jenkins said Patterson inspired her.
``She said how I could make a difference,'' Jenkins said. ``And if there's a lot of people now saying the same thing that I am, we all add up and it does make a difference.
``I never really sat down to spend the time to hear what anybody was saying. I just tried to get my mother to tell me who she thought was good . .
``I think it will feel good.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Teacher Gladys Patterson, left, talks with students Shelly Wright,
center, and Latarsha Hill at the Hicks Academy of Beauty in Norfolk.
Graphic
Deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election is 5 p.m.
Monday. For more details, please see B7.
KEYWORDS: VOTER REGISTRATION by CNB