Clearview Mall in Metarie, La., near New Orleans, became the latest mall to add a teen curfew. But local teens aren't happy about that development and are organizing a fightback against the policy.
Rise Against the Clearview Age Ban, or RACAB, was founded on Saturday, a day after officials at Clearview began strictly enforcing its Parental Escort Policy. Under the rule, patrons 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21-years-old when arriving at the mall on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. until closing."It's being too strict, too quick," said Matt Shaver, 17 of Jefferson, who set up RACAB's online group forum via the social Web site MySpace. "I want to be able to hang out with my friends that are under 16 on the weekends."
Officials said they increased security and began carding patrons last weekend to control the crowds of teens and children who congregated in the food court near the ticket booth for the mall's movie theater complex. Tara Lubrano, the mall's general manager, described property damage and other mischief that occurred over the past few months. Her staff ultimately decided to enforce the policy after a Feb. 9 fight in which several juveniles severely beat a food court employee.
For previous entries on mall curfews:
- September 21, 2007, More News on the Teen Front
- August 29, 2007Forget Curfews, Try Mosquitos
- August 20, 2007Perhaps This is Why Curfews are on the Rise
- August 17, 2007Mayfair Mall Scales Back Curfew
- July 26, 2007The Curfew Bandwagon Expands
- June 29, 2007Another Take on Mall Curfews
- May 25, 2007Monitoring Mallrats
- May 22, 2007Heard on the Floor
- April 25, 2007More on Curfews
- April 5, 2007Everyone's Noticing Mall Curfews
Retail Traffic also reported on the issue in March 2007.