So I was reading my local newspaper today and came across an article about my Local mall, and the only mall that isn't 2 hours away (im about 2 hours from Ft. Myers, 2 hours from Tampa, 2 and a half hours from Orlando). I found the new Policy on the Mall's website, so heres a
PDF link and heres what if says if you want to read it here:
LAKESHORE MALL YOUTH ESCORT POLICY
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
6 P.M. UNTIL CLOSE
1. Lakeshore Mall visitors under 18 years of age are required to be accompanied by a
parent or guardian 21 years or older at all times on Friday and Saturday evenings
after 6 p.m.
2. Security will begin monitoring those entering the property at 6p.m. on Friday and
Saturday evenings.
3. Unescorted youth shopping prior to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings must leave
the property by 6 p.m. or be joined by a parent or guardian.
4. Unescorted youth will be asked to leave the property after 6 p.m. on Fridays and
Saturdays.
5. Individuals without personal transportation on Friday or Saturday nights must schedule
their departure time to ensure compliance with the Youth Escort Policy.
6. Any person violating the posted Youth Escort Policy or Code of Conduct will be asked to
leave the property.
7. Individuals in violation of the Youth Escort Policy or the Code of Conduct who refuse to
leave the property when requested to do so by mall security officers may be prosecuted
for trespassing.
8. Proof of age will be required if the age of the youth and/or parent(s) or guardian(s) is not
easily determined. Those whose age cannot be determined and who lack identification
will be asked to leave the property.
9. Anyone appearing to be under 18 years of age should be prepared to show valid
identification (with picture and date of birth). Acceptable identification includes a driver’s
license, state or military identification card, passport or visa.
10. Youth under 18 years of age working on property will be allowed access without a parent
or guardian. Proof of work status will be required, and youth employees must go directly
to the place of employment and must leave the property at the conclusion of their work
shift if after 6 p.m. on Friday and/or Saturday evenings.
11. Unescorted theater patrons under the age of 18 may only enter the theater through the
mall entrance adjacent to the theater.
12. One parent over 21 years of age may escort all of his/her children. Additionally, one
parent or guardian over 21 years of age may escort up to 3 youths, at least one of which
must be the child of the parent or guardian.
13. Parents or guardians are accountable for the actions of the youth they escort.
14. If an escorted youth is banned from the center, the adult escort will also be banned for
the same period of time.
15. Security personnel are responsible for enforcing this policy and related procedures.
16. The Youth Escort Policy is posted at all mall entrances.
Thank you for your cooperation
Effective September 11, 2009
I, for one, think this is absolutely crazy. This is their effort to deal with "hooligans" in the mall, and it even punishes mall employees who are under 18. The mall is also home to the only Gamestop in the whole county, and the only other place to buy games would be from Walmart. This will seriously cut into their business, and the business of most of the stores in the mall because that is when they have the most business is at night on Fridays and Saturdays. This will seriously take away 80% of the business on Friday and Saturday nights. Even alot of the store managers are against this policy.
What are your oppinions on this/ what do you think would happen if your local mall did this? I, for one, know I won't be shopping there anymore if I can help it, or going to the theater there, even though its the only one in town. It also is home to the only record store in town, and the only arcade in town.
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Alot of the store managers have said this is a terrible idea, and some shoppers who were interviewed said they were no longer shopping at the mall because of the new policy. One man is even returning $300 of stuff he bought because of the policy. The person who created and put this into effect is the General Manager of the mall, who i've never even heard of before. She is disregarding the stores needs to sell stuff to stay in business. It seems like she will be costing a lot of people a lot of money.
It nonetheless seems annoying. I guess age discrimination doesn't apply to minors, because they have no rights.
What did they do? They kicked the kids outside into downtown (city name).
It won't happen though. No one is going to fight for your rights and dignity, not even your peers. Not even in an age when cellphones and social networking make organizing easier than ever. It's kinda a shame.
It's pretty much only going to hurt the sales of folks selling food and beverages. Kids will just show up during the day to spend their money.
The kids that most people assumed would be the worst (goth/punk/metal) were usually the best, with a legitimate interest in being at the store, other than guzzling espresso drinks and looking at tits in the photography books. Yet these were the kids who got harassed the most by security/police. Lemme guess, the mall punks are a "big problem" in your area too? Funny how shit never changes. I used to think that when my generation got older, this shit would stop. But apparently there is never a lack of idiots, generation to generation.
I agree with this. The new regulations do sound dumb, however the issue of "hooligans" in the mall would probably not be a significant problem if there were things to do other than going to the mall for them.
Edit- Although they still have some access to the theater on those nights so they aren't totally cut off from it being unaccompanied.
Whatever happened to the bonfire/kegger in the woods? Nothing better than kids making a big fire in a remote place then drinking as much as they can get their hands on.
(I didn't like that movie.)
Also, private property. So you can take your 'right to assemble' off my lawn, you damn kids.
Hey, some of us don't have access to woods like you fancy country kids!
(For bonus points, have some genius toss an aerosol can onto the fire.)
I've also stayed at my house for... I think the longest was about 3 weeks once. only leaving to go out to eat once or twice. Hell, other than going to 2 classes at my community college i've stayed at my house for I think 2 weeks so far
Don't know about the U.S., but here the owner of a mall can't do much to restrict access, it's almost crazy.
Nope, never been a shooting or anything here. pretty much just the bitchy old lady part. and the rich emo kids.
If you want bonus points, you've got to go with a propane bottle.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Good lord. My friends and I once just blew up a garbage bag we'd filled up off of a propane tank. It was amazing. Amazingly scary. It set off car alarms and rattled windows. We never did that again.
That's when we put two highpower rounds through it. Luckily we were all well clear.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Anywho, I can kind of understand the mall wanting to get kids out of there on friday and saturday nights. Because all I remember a lot of people doing at malls when I was younger, was stealing random shit. It's not like the teenagers were gonna spend a lot of money, anyways. And I really doubt too many adults are going to stop shopping because of these rules, and they're the ones that are either a: spending the money, or b: giving the money to their kids to spend. They'll just have to go with their kids at night or just let them go during the day time. I think they instituted a rule against large groups of teenagers loitering in one of the more popular malls around here. I really don't think it hurt business at all.
I wouldn't want him in the mall after six no matter how old he is.
Depends on what you're talking about. A mall can absolutely tell you to get the fuck off their "lawn" if they don't want you around. It is private property opened for public use, but you can certainly be told to leave at any time and for almost any reason (aside from illegal reasons).
That said, this seems like a bad business decision. I wonder whether the stores in the mall had any say in this change of policy, and if not, what they're planning to do about it. If stores start accepting kids after 6pm, the mall may try to fine them... but the corporate offices would love for them to try.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, other than "mall makes stupid policy, stores revolt before teenagers do."
Also, elderly people aren't known for spending loads of cash. On the other hand, I was working before I was even legal to do so, and had tons of disposable income that I couldn't wait to drop on music, books, boardgames/RPGs, clothes and general stuff that you can find at the mall. Have times changed so much that no kids work or spend their paychecks on stuff other than necessities?
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Kids are generally quite irresponsible, and that definitely includes their spending habits.
hitting hot metal with hammers
Not to completely derail but hi5 fellow CNY person
Where are you from
PS the age rule at Carousel is even dumber because it's literally the only place in the city to go to do something besides buy drugs/see a game
Actually I grew up an hour away from Carousel (Hamilton), but it was still the only good mall nearby (Sangertown sucks).
What really gets me though is the employee one. You would think that any teen under the age of 18 that works there would appreciate their job enough not to cause trouble. Also, if work hours are what they usually are, if they wanted/needed to do some shopping after 6pm, why punish someone who works for you because of age?
Is it really being irresponsible for a 16 year old to be spending his paycheck, y'know if he's not responsible for putting food on the table or something? I mean, since most teenagers are still getting food and board from their parents, why shouldn't they spend their money? I got a job at 16 to have some cash that I can spend. Once I paid the insurance payment on my car, that money was spending money. Does a 16 year old need to be saving in an IRA or something to pass your personal responsibility test?