Teen Center Tops Wish List for Teens at U City Youth Forum

The No. 1 priority for teens who turned out for last Wednesday's Youth in the Loop forum is the creation of a teen center.

“We need freedom,” said a teenage girl, one of about 50 people who took part in the forum Wednesday at . 

“To have a place to call our own,” said another teen. “To have a place where we can just hang out and not be harassed and not be like, 'You have to leave at a certain time.'" 

She said the teens want a place to hang with friends, study and talk. “Just our building.” 

The goal of the forum was to discuss youth issues within University City.

The teens said the ideal location for the teen center would be the old near The Loop. They’d like to use the gymnasium, outfitting it with sofas and a speaker system. “A safe place so that we’re not such a heavy burden on the city, as we’re told that we are,” another teen said.

However, the city does not own Delmar-Harvard. It's owned by the School District of University City. 

"The idea of a teen center is a good one. It would require significant funding," said City Manager Lehman Walker, who helped oversee the forum. "But it's an area the city would explore."

Teens at the forum also complained about not feeling welcomed in The Loop by business owners and law enforcement officials. The teens say it's frustrating constantly being asked for their identification by police when they are out in The Loop.

"If you're old enough to drive a car, you're old enough to walk down the street," one young man said. Currently, people 16 years of age and younger have to be out of The Loop by 9 p.m.

However, Walker said the curfew will not change. "The curfew from our point of view is working well," Walker said. Plus, he noted that there is no reason for underage youth to be in The Loop after a certain time, when shops are closed and only businesses for people 21 and over are open.

"Teens add to The Loop. They don't just drain it out," another young person said. She said all teens should not be punished for the mistakes of a few.

said his officers are just doing their job by asking teens for ID.

“Police aren’t dictating who comes and who doesn’t come. The object is that when you come, you’re supposed to act civilly and obey all the rules,” he said.