Photograph by George Sakkestad
Amanda Leighton of Fremont High School gives a presentation during a youth forum at Murphy Park March 21.
By LESTER CHANG
Following a call by teenagers to break down prejudice and get more youths involved in community service, two Sunnyvale Rotary clubs have joined forces to look for solutions.
A planning committee consisting of members from the Sunnyvale Sunrise and Main Rotary clubs will assemble on an unspecified date to "see how we can make changes," said Myrna Klokow, a Sunrise club member.
The clubs include business, civic and religious leaders from Sunnyvale.
The pledge for help came after 46 students, including many from Fremont and Homestead high schools, spoke out on a need for changes at a forum held at Murphy Park on March 21.
The kids asked for help in dealing with drug and alcohol use, teen pregnancy, prejudice and peer pressure.
Prejudice can be lessened if "students keep an open mind about different cultures," said Anthony Capizzi, a 12-year-old student at St. Cyprian School in Sunnyvale.
"People have to learn not to be afraid of strangers," Capizzi said after the meeting. "They have to learn that people are people, regardless of color."
Schools could advance this idea by celebrating cultural events more often, he said. Conferences to discuss the different cultures also would help break down prejudice, he said.
Other teens said the media tend to sensationalize news events that deal with race relationships.
Students also spoke about the need to care for the communities in which they live.
The problem is that they aren't always taught the value of community service, said Thomas Maloney, a Sunnyvale resident who attends Bellarmine College Preparatory School in San Jose.
"The students aren't being told that it is important," Maloney, a 15-year-old freshman at the school, said after the forum.
That is partly because adults don't set the right examples, he said. "It appears that they are too busy working at their jobs to volunteer. And teenagers see that."
As part of his schooling, Maloney said he tutors small children. Students can do the same, or volunteer their services at hospitals or at community centers that serve the elderly, he said.
"If nothing is done now, people will care less and less for the community in the future," he said.
Amy Ho, a 16-year-old Homestead student, said her peers won't care about community service if they aren't "introduced to the importance of community service early enough" in their lives.
And if that isn't impressed on them now, they will miss the chance to help shape the communities they live in, she said.
Some teens don't think community service is worthwhile "because they don't get paid for it," she said.
She said students can find out how they can help the community by reading newspapers listing volunteer projects.
Ho said she would like to see more youth forums in the future.
Attending the March 21 forum were Mary Panucci, superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District; Doris Wilson, superintendent of the Sunnyvale School District; and Regan Williams, Sunnyvale public safety director.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 2, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.