INSIGHTS Start listening: a generation is at stake THE MEDIA have given considerable coverage recently to teen violence — everything from a major crime like the stabbing murder of a 16-year-old Surrey teenager to the incident in Edgemont Village tast month in which a Handsworth secondary school student was assaulied by 2 group of young girls when she refused to hand over her boots. Bravo io the North Vancouver RCMP for beginning an initiative that will ask teenagers for their views on how to stop youth vio- lence. The detachment p‘ans to hold a number of sessions ut which young people will give their views to the folice. ‘*Our aim is ‘o analyze the problems and come up with pro- active solutions to help the com- munity,”’ says Const. Marty Blais, a community policing officer with the detachment. The problem with media coverage that focuses on teen vio- lence is that it often fails to ask the basic question: Why is this happening? ‘When coverage is given to teen violence, boredom is inevitably mentioned as a major factor, But as Const. Blais points out, all of us should be very careful about dismissing a roving group of teenagers as a bunch of bored young people looking for kicks. “*Boredom is only one reason. When | was bored in my younger years, going out and mugging someone wasn’t the first thing that came to mind,”’ says Blais. Sue Okazaki is & district counsellor for the West Vancouver District 45 School Board with 27 years of counselling experience. She believes that parents must question, and deal with, the causes of such unrest. “People on the North Shore are just waking up to the fact that bad things happen here and not just in Surrey. Until now there’s been a lot of denial,’’ Okazaki says. . Though statistics show that Catherine JUST ADD WATER there has been a 105% increase since 1985 in violent crimes com- mitted by B.C. youths, people who work with young people em- phasize that a small minority is responsible. Again, the media coverage given to such a sensational increase detracts from ail the other prob- tems and challenges facing youth, falling outside the violent crime category. “The media like to sensa- tionalize, but serious problems in- valve perhaps 5% of the student population. Ninety per cent of kids are wonderful,’’ says Len Slade, a vice-principal at Carson Graham secondary school in North Vancouver, While most teens aren't whack- ing each other over the head with baseball bats, we should be wor- ried about the teenagers who, ina MAILBOX Theatre alive and well in Deep Cove Dear Editor: I’m afraid your columnist Trevor Lautens has not been pay- ing attention when it comes to theatre on the North Shore. In his column of Nov. 6, Mr. Lautens was bemoaning the failure of West Vancouver to get its own theatre, and the demise of Presentation House. He stated that ‘‘this leaves the North Shore with one middling- size theatre, North Van Centenni- al, and one tiny one: the charm- ingly off-beat and. definitely off- the-beaten-track Theatre at Hen- dry Hali.”’ Wrong. The Deep Cove Cultural Centre opened its doors at 4360 Gallant Ave. on March 31. Since then, more than a dozen productions have been staged in the 130-seat Deep Cove Shaw Theatre. These include the very suc- cessful First Impressions Theatre production of The Sunshine Boys and Deep Cove Stage’s recent sold-out show, Frankenstein. We invite Mr. Lautens to visit our theatre, perhaps for the tradi- tional Deep Cove Stage Christmas panto. This year’s production is Humpty Dumpty and opens Dec. 16. The Deep Cove Cultural Centre also includes the Seymour Art Gallery and the Deep Cove and Area Heritage Association ar- chives. One thing’s for sure: theatre is alive and well in Deep Cove, even if it may be ailing in other parts of the North Shore. Damian Inwood, treasurer Deep Cove Cultural Society U2 not environmentally friendly f have heard that U2 are sup- porters of keeping the environ- ment clean, but this does not seem to be true. Dear Editor: Hasn’t anyone told the band U2 about the benefits of carpooling? Their extravagant use of 12 limousines was a complete waste of gas as well as being harmful to our environment. Bree Cronin, age 10 North Vancouver number of ways, just aren’t mak- ing it. They may be failing at school. They may be alienated from their families. They may be spending all their spare time at 4 local conve- nience store just waiting for some- thing to happen. These teenagers are also slipping through the cracks, and they deserve more than that classic line from the musical Bye Bye Birdie: “*Kids! What's the matter with kids today?’’ As one of six youth workers in North Vancouver, Kate Giffin talks to a lot of teenagers. The Central Lonsdale Outreach Youth Worker walks the streets talking to teens, does one-on-one counselling and leads support groups. She believes teen violence is not a major problem in North Van- couver. She's increasingly concerned about the small number of ser- vices and programs for youth in the community. Waiter Knott, her counterpart in Lower Lonsdale, agrees: ‘‘It’s like Ottawa. The city closes down at 5:30 p.m.”’ Areas such as Lonsdale and Lynn Valley offer very little for young people, Walter says, and what is offered usually requires money, which not all young peo- ple have in their pockets. If youth programming becomes more of a priority, Kate thinks that the approach to this programming must change. **In the past, adults have pro- vided for youth programs that adults think teenagers enjoy. “Young people today want a say, dul we’re often afraid to give them that freedom because we're afraid of what they'll come up with.” As Giffin so accurately points out, many adults are afraid of looking hard at their own kids because they're terrified of look- ing hard at themslves and their own values. ““When so many adults bust themselves to get a certain make of car, is it any wonder teenagers beat up another teenager for a pair cf boots?’’ Giffin asks. It's easy to sit in a living room shaking our heads about teenagers; it’s a lot harder to look at the values we're passing on to them. Adults have a responsibility to start showing teenagers that fami- ly life has some value. With little involvement from parents and little communication, it’s no wonder that for too many teenagers their peer group has become a substitute family. It seems that conversation among family members has become a rare Phenomenon. The family dinner is now a quaint rit- ual you can view an television shows like Leave It To Beaver. As an indication of impover- ished family communication, Okazaki says she has parents who consider watching videos with their children as quality time. And how many of us are asking what effects a video diet is having on the ability of yourig people to create and imagine? We're all responsible. We need to shut up and listen to young people, as Kate Giffin urges us. A generation is at stake. {LEED Tents Coact Guard privatize Search an/ rescue Lions Gate Hospital installs new phone system. Lions Gate Hospital is in the process of installing a new telephone system. This new system is designed to provide better phone service, more direct-in-dial lines, voice mail, pre- recorded messages for the public, and other customer service features. in the process of installing the new system many adjustments are made to ensure proper service. Some of these programming adjustments have caused some callers difficulty through a temporary slowdown of the system or routing error. These experiences are temporary and are being corrected as quickly as possible. We apologize for any difficulties or inconvenience experienced. We thank you for your patience and understanding during this transition phase. 231 East 15th Street North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 2L7