Forget the “family friendly” wrapping paper – Aurora Mall’s plan to ban teens under 16 from the popular shopping center on weekend evenings strikes us as excessive.
The new rule, which takes effect Sept. 9, bans anyone under 16 who isn’t accompanied by an adult after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Only about 30 shopping malls have teen curfews nationwide. Aurora Mall, owned by Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, is the first to do so in the Denver area.
Most Friday or Saturday evenings, 300 to 500 teens hang out at the mall, often awaiting show times at the adjacent Aurora Stadium 16 theater. Some (and are rowdy and intimidating to older shoppers.
Aurora Mall, built in 1978 at 14200 E. Alameda Ave., is in the midst of $100 million renovation, so the owner’s desire to make sure customers have a good experience is understandable.
The curfew issue is ticklish because much of Aurora Mall’s clientele (including teens) is African-American. Indeed, the center went to great lengths last year to assuage hurt feelings caused by a leasing agent’s racially tinged remarks. One result was hiring parents to help patrol the mall and supervise the teens.
Aurora Police spokesman Sgt. Rudy Herrera said he had no data on problems with teens at the mall because police are rarely called unless someone refuses to comply when ordered to leave by security guards.
Yet mall spokeswoman Alisa Sill skirted the issue when asked if misbehaving teens inspired the curfew. “The focus and the reason for implementing (the ban) is, one, we want to create the safest and most secure environment possible at the shopping center, and, two, we want to create a family fun environment.”
Teens are “welcome at the center” on Friday and Saturday evenings – if they’re with an adult. (And why not? Teenage Research Unlimited of Illinois estimates that American teens spend $169 billion a year.)
We believe the curfew is the wrong course because it penalizes kids who behave as well as those who don’t. Also, it gives teens with working parents fewer options for wholesome activities. Indeed, as Bernard Celestin of the Aurora Human Relations Commission has noted, youths gravitate to the mall because of a dearth of outdoor space and recreation centers.
Rather than excluding teens who can’t find adults to accompany them to the mall, it would be better to continue to focus on conduct. Kids generally behave if adults set and consistently enforce reasonable rules for them.
