NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

WEST. VANCOUVER’ $ Sitk Purse ‘studio is currently having
-|:@ show. that features young artists such as Clara’ Hungr, 10
* (eft) and. Emily Walton, 12. Produced during the Saturday .
morning art'classes at. the Silk Purse, the exhibit can be.
seon‘at Park Royal South until Sunday, April 24. The exhibit:
features the work of nine- to 16-year-olds. ;

LAST WEEK we: asked if you.:
think Nirvana's Kurt Cobain isa ;

“hero or. a: loser, “after his recent:

Wey Idon’t’ think that’ Kurt.

“checked ‘because he did a pret-
ty stupid thing: : ,

ee 1 think Cobain isa 1 loser: :
: I don't think it’sa : point of”.

-Cobain-was a loser or.a hero ‘ whether or not he was a hero

: for killing himself, I think he
was just: stupid. :
Nirvana-is: my. favorite

group-and I'll remember the.
group, and: I’fl-remember the

day that Kurt Cobain died, but
“Twill never say he was a hero
"for killing himself.

: FP I think he’s sort of a jerk.

for leaving-a wife and a kid
behind. His wife has to live.
without:a husband and the

daughter will grow up every
single day of her. life without a

I ‘grew up without a dad and
ab ‘now: what it’s like, and it’s a:
“pretty bad feeling. :If people

sthink: he’ ’s-a folk hero, they -

have: to. get their. brains

or a loser. Teenagers should
“see that he was a guy who was
in trouble and needed help.

- If you know someone fike
‘that you should get help for

“' them, and if you are like that

yourself, you should get help.
FP You can’t just classify

someone as being a hero or a’

loser if they commit suicide.
That’s not the point. —
People, instead, should be
questioning what ‘good came
out of his death. Sure, it makes
people more aware of suicide,
but is that a good thing?
‘Frankly, ! don’t think so.
It sucks that he’s gone.

Another caller had this to say:

FF vm a parent on the North

. Shore. I'd like to commend and

acknowledge Craig Hashimoto
‘for his article (Keep the faith,
believe in yourself, . Friday,
‘April 15, page 24).

-It was an éxcellent article,-

; “coagratulations. I hope that the ”

‘youth on.the North Shore have~
read the article and got some .

inspiration from it.” =.

THE YOUTH “ews column is the result of a
discussion on school preblems and teen vio-
lence. What do you think the biggest problems

in school are?

Wf you cauld do anything you

wanted, how would you solve these problems?

"THERE SEEMS to bea lot

of problems in my school’
‘lately — gangs, violence and
alienation. Recenily, I held a
mini-forum with four stu-
dents from Sutherland sec- . °
ondary school and J was sur-

_ prised at the results. -

" Do you. ‘like caming to school?
C.L.,.17; “No, because I feel ©

like 'm being } conditioned to act

“and be a certain way for society.”

‘Do you mean how people dress or

CL La “Y eah, it seems like
they’re trying to teach us to be the,
same and to follow the crowd.”
“Do you have problems with other
“students i in the school?.

. ‘C.L.s “No, aot at all. ‘T just don't te
Z ‘associate with them.” .

9

have friends, but! i just

~ gan’t relate very well sometimes.”

ve OB 17: “Yeah, everyone’s
caught up in trying to be something »
they? re not. Everyone’s trying to -
impress cach other. They’re not
“here to learn.”

Do you. think something can be.

done about it?
. KB Vell, no. It" s pait of
growing up.”
‘Do you think is like: ‘that in all.
schools?

» KBs SL think al high schools

. * are the same. You can’ 1

”

change
People grow

than others." _—
Are. there ‘people in
the school that make.
you question why they -
are still here — people
who pick fights and
stuff? :

CL “Yeah. - 5
1 hey’ re foo immature:
tolearn.”
“Do you think somes.”
“thing should be done with them,
like sending them toa different
school or something?

_ L.B., 16: “I think they know

that they can get away with a lot .
here.”
_Should they?

L.B.: “Well no, of course they
shouldn’t.”
'.Most people believe they. should

be Kept in school no matter how ©

bad they are. Do you agree with
+ that? ‘ ‘
-. KBs Yes. 1 mean, putting or
moving them away iso’ going to
do anything.”

But what-if someone was in a
class that you really wanted to

Why do you think that has hap-

work hard in, and this person:

was always fooling around, mak- *-

_ ing it really hard to concentrate
and do your work?
K.B.: “They shouldn't be there

if they don’t want to be, but I don’t
think forcing or putting them away —

is going to do anything cither.”
"LB. “Moving them from -
school to school isn’t going to do
"anything either.” ‘
K.B.: “| mean, it’s something
the teachers have to deal with.”

with it well?:. ;

— KBs don’ t know: Vcan’ t.
really say what’s going on, you
know. 1 don’t know what they're
2 Going. If they*re doing anything,

they're nol letting anyone teally cs
2 know about it ue

“It just seems to be petting .
worse. Right? I mean, when! first

_ came to Sutherland there were no.

‘fights, untillast year and-then all-of--
the sudden there’s ail these fights,
C.L.: “You know why. | thint
| that is? It’s because fimilie
theyre falling apart. - There’ s sepa-
ration, .
’ “Parents are starting to neglect.
their kids more because they-have ,
‘to have jobs, they have to make.

_ 17- year-old Sutherland student mn

more money in the ‘90s and kids.
don’t have the parenting they need
and they fall apart. So they find
gangs and drugs.”

L.F., 17: “They get their com-
fort from g gangs and drugs and then

they go and rebel because it’s a

way of screaming for attention.” - .

LBe*T hey think they’re loved
by their gang friends, but they’re :.
not. They’re just used by them.”

‘Would you say schcol has gotten
worse over the years? ; :

C.L.: “Oh definitely, definitely.”

pened?

C.L.: “Because violence has
escalated.” | :

K.B.: “Also there’s 4 new. opin-
ion of what's cool. I mean like this ,
whole new gang/rap.scene’s cool.
It's cool to shoot and beat each .
other up.-Then you're tough. ©.

“Before when people w would
have a fight, they would have a list
fight. Now, it’s, like, PH get my~.
gang after your gang and there's,
knives involved, It wasn t like that.”
‘before.”

C.L.: “Keep i in mind, it was like
that i in the ghettos and stuff. Now”

- they th ught this is where'l
‘my attention, my love from.

cits moved 1 to. ‘the ae of society.” ”
LAB.“I think that people: that

: “ae really harshly into gangs should

be kicked out of the school because
théy? re going to’ get their gangs’.
after § ae else’s S gang a and.c1

” becduse the'gang had a dr
shooting of the school; because
hey wanted to find the other. uy

school; it 5 ‘going to ‘be Us whi
- going, to have 10 pay. for it

66 I fw we 2 keep the, gangs. xs in the school,
it’s gaing to be us.who.are going-t0
have to pay for it 99

© thing,’ most of these,
- parigs'started

“L*, the kids were reall
“young. ¥. So, they grew up onita

“We woulda’ tbe influenc d

pretty, ald to be needing that kind of.

attention so much that we > have to

AS ] listened, 1 realized that

-there are u lot.of people who ‘Tecog

nize that there are some major
problems in our school; Yet, what.

- fascinates me is that-I don’t think

anything is being done. +: -;
However, L don’t think it’s s the

school’s job to discipline or babysit;

these students: Where are the! pa

‘ents? Why don’t they discipline

their children? .”
"You have to get a license for dri

‘ving, fishing and even gétting mar-

ried, but any unsuitable person can
have: and neglect a child.: :
That’s what’s scary:
Chris Illing, 16, is a Grade li
‘student at ‘Suitherland secondary
school. He is interested in'skiin

-and psychology, and hopes to
‘ become an actor. *