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PeaceMakers program offering summer classes
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal
Published on Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
The city is looking for civic-minded teens to take part in an anti-crime program.
PeaceMakers will be a year-round effort that gives freshmen through juniors an inside look at the workings of city government, the court system, the police and fire departments, along with a variety of community organizations with the aim of curbing teen crime.
''We know the more young people understand their community, the less likely they are to contribute to crime and delinquency,'' said Billy Soule, assistant to Mayor Don Plusquellic.
Soule said the goal of PeaceMakers is to provide young people with a variety of civic experiences that will give them the knowledge they need to ''feel that they are an integral part'' of the community.
''They need to know that this is their city, that this is their community,'' said Soule.
So far, PeaceMakers has graduated 21 students from two classes that convened earlier in the year. This summer, the program is offering classes that begin the weeks of June 24, July 15 and Aug. 12.
The summer program will condense the normal eight weeks of PeaceMakers instruction into four intense, daylong sessions. During some of those sessions, students will have the opportunity to interact with the mayor and City Council members, along with civic and business leaders.
James Shealey, at-large city councilman, said it is important to have the input of young people in the decision-making process of the city.
''As a teacher, I too often hear young people express feelings as if they don't matter to the community,'' said Shealey.
He said PeaceMakers will alter that perception.
Plusquellic, a supporter of the program, was given an unexpected opportunity during his weekly news conference Monday for a practical demonstration of the PeaceMakers program.
Julianna Cook, 17, who attends Buchtel High School, quizzed the mayor during the news conference's question-and-answer period about a recent policy enacted by the owners of Chapel Hill Mall banning teens unaccompanied by a parent from being in the mall after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Cook, who was with a group of more than a dozen PeaceMaker graduates, told Plusquellic that she is against the ban, noting that ''my mother doesn't like to shop with me.'' She wanted the mayor's opinion on the Chapel Hill ban.
Plusquellic told Cook that city officials are ''still taking a look'' at the ban. He added that he hasn't yet decided if the mall's ban is ''going beyond'' what is needed to ensure a peaceful shopping environment.
The mayor wants graduates of the PeaceMakers program to serve on a youth advisory council to help city officials shape new youth-oriented initiatives and suggest changes to current programs.
''The more young people we graduate from PeaceMakers, the better opportunity they have as individuals and we have as a community at a less violent, more positive future,'' said Plusquellic.
PeaceMakers is free and open to students with passing grades who live in Akron and includes private-school and home-schooled students. To register for a summer session and for further information, contact the mayor's office of community relations at 330-375-2712.
Carl Chancellor can be reached at 330-996-3725 or cchancellor@thebeaconjournal.com. Beacon Journal staff writer Katie Byard contributed to this report.
The city is looking for civic-minded teens to take part in an anti-crime program.
Get the full article here.
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