THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 18, 1995 TAG: 9505180692
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
Teens and adults will set aside their stereotypes of each other, at least for a few hours Sunday, when they join in the second annual Hampton Roads Youth Vigil.
The candlelight vigil will feature youth and adult speakers on AIDS, teen violence, respect, staying in school, and drinking and driving. Several hundred people are expected to attend.
``Part of the Youth Vigil is to show the community that teenagers really do care about these issues and want to help improve the cities,'' said Tommy Smigiel, 16, a Norview High School junior. He and Marty Fentress, 17, a Granby High School junior, are program co-chairmen.
In addition to talking about important issues, forum organizers hope to create common ground where teens and adults can work together more often.
``This event is a way to let people know there are teenagers who care, and there are adults who care about what teenagers are doing. This is part of the solution to these problems, just having people think about that,'' said Baxter Vendrick Jr., a 1994 Granby High School graduate who initiated the Youth Vigil.
``Solutions have to come from across the community,'' he said. ``Unless connections are made between more people, our problems will continue to grow.''
Vendrick, 19, now a student at Hampden-Sydney College, is a volunteer adviser to the vigil's planning committee. He observed that organizing the event ``takes a lot of problem solving in and of itself, and a lot of communication.''
Vendrick, a double major in political science and history, said he is trying to give vigil organizers a long-term perspective on solving community problems.
In college, Vendrick discovered the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville, a 19th-century French political philosopher best known for authoring ``Democracy in America.''
The book discusses American aptitudes for town hall meetings and self-help associations.
``He had a lot of great insights, and it's hard to believe it, but what he pointed out in mid-19th century America is still true today,'' Vendrick said.
``This is just a starter event,'' Vendrick said of the Youth Vigil. ``This is not an overnight fix, but it's a way to let everybody know there are ways to deal with problems and get people involved.''
Smigiel and Fentress said they've begun to see some possibilities for problem solving after working with adults on the planning committee.
``It was neat. Business people and community leaders would actually want to sit down and work with teenagers,'' Smigiel said.
The experience helped teens sharpen some skills, including consensus-building, sorting out differences, compromising, running meetings and decision making.
``The adults didn't run anything,'' said David Hayes, student resource coordinator at Norview High School and one of the adults on the planning committee. ``We all worked as equals. . . There wasn't an adult saying, `Here's what needs to be done, now go do it.' ''
Even the format of the vigil was the product of open discussion among the committee's four adults and 10 students.
``We were going to run it as adults would, with just a series of speakers,'' Hayes said. ``But the kids said that would be too dull.''
The students, he said, suggested having two speakers on most topics - a teen paired with an adult. The youngsters also said the event needed entertainment and refreshments.
``They still wanted the messages to get out there, but they said the messages had to be given in a way that's entertaining,'' Hayes said.
Meanwhile, the teens ``found that some of the tasks could not be accomplished by just one side.''
The teens, for instance, conducted a survey of high school juniors to help select discussion topics for the the vigil. But they did not have many connections for recruiting guest speakers, Smigiel said.
``On the students' part, students went out and raised the money and got the sponsors because the adults had busy schedules during work hours,'' Smigiel said. ``One student raised $350 just going to different businesses.''
Teens and adults had to accept rejection of some ideas.
Students proposed that buses be used to transport teens to the Youth Vigil from throughout Hampton Roads. The adults, Smigiel said, contended it would be too expensive because of liability insurance.
Some adults wanted a religious dimension to the vigil, but the students worried that the theme could be misinterpreted and turn off some teen participation, Hayes said.
There were lessons about the importance of mundane details.
``The students had no idea about the problems in preparing and serving refreshments,'' said Davis Dalby, a retired Army facilities engineer. ``When the adults pointed out the problems, first the students were overwhelmed. But then they backed up, looked at it again and came back with some solutions.''
Ernie Edwards, another adult on the committee, said he became involved because he believes it is important for teens to start developing skills for untangling the problems their generation will inherit.
``The family structure is breaking up. Our nation has a huge deficit. . . ,'' Edwards said. ``The kids are the future, and somehow they'll have to solve these problems.'' ILLUSTRATION: THE EVENT
What: Hampton Roads Youth Vigil for teens and community leaders
throughout the region.
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Chittum Field, Norview High School, Norfolk.
Topics: AIDS, teen violence, respect, staying in school, and
drinking and driving.
Sponsors: Z104 radio station, Kiwanis International, Norfolk
Police Assisted Community Enforcement, Key Club International and
WTKR-Channel 3 television.
Information: call 583-3810 or 588-3746.
by CNB