2. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing youth in Sitka today?
Lon Garrison: Choosing a healthy lifestyle, getting out of the house, doing some activity, becoming part of a group that does something other than watch TV, eat junk food and hang out with your buddies. There are lots of things that this community has to offer. I’m always amazed at all the things going on, and yet there are people who say there’s nothing for kids to do in this community. I think there’s lots of things for us to do, and we just need to get it out there and get them doing it. The other thing is, it’s hard to teach a kid how to work anymore, the labor laws limit that. Growing up, I remember learning how to work, and that became a big part of my life. I don’t think we’re going to change labor laws, but it would be nice to find ways to give kids skills to take forward.
Mo McBride: in talking to youth, I talked to some kids about this – they said the biggest challenge is the peer pressure to be like everybody else. There’s a pressure to identify with a particular type of dress, labels, different designers. If they economically can’t afford it, there’s pressure on them that way. They want to be very much the same. When they’re making choices based on those external factors, they’re not learning who they are. They’re putting on what they want to be, but not necessarily knowing what that is. If we want to help them in developing their authentic self – you want to know what you believe, you want to work on what’s inside, not just what’s outside. We always have good intentions, but they don’t always translate to good outcomes.
Tim Fulton: Pressure. So many of our young people are making choices based on what others think and not in their own best interest. Pressure from both peers and superiors has been an issue for many years but I think we are in a dangerous place with what our kids are feeling is acceptable.