WHERE I STAND

Andrew Hosea

Editors note: More than 800 students from high schools throughout Southern Nevada participated in the 51st annual Sun Youth Forum on Nov. 21. The students were divided into groups to discuss a variety of topics. A spokesperson was chosen from each group to write a column about the students findings. Andrew Hosea of Palo Verde High School writes about issues covered by his group.

Throughout history, adults have often gathered together to discuss important issues affecting them and their communities. Teenagers, on the other hand, rarely ever have this kind of an opportunity, but we did have this chance during the Sun Youth Forum.

The discussion started with a controversial issue that made national news recently. The decision by the town of Pahrump to designate English as the official language prompted much debate in our 34-person room. The majority of the room agreed with the decision in a 25-9 vote.

Most felt that illegal immigration was becoming an unnecessary burden on society and that America has been a predominantly English-speaking society for more than 200 hundred years, while others felt that America was a melting pot and that immigrants provided economic stability.

Despite these large differences of opinion, almost the entire room agreed that they would be willing to raise their taxes to solve this issue by providing more funds into programs that would teach immigrants English.

The issue of teen activities led to a debate about stereotyping and discrimination against teenagers. Many of us felt that there was not enough for teenagers to do in a town designed for adults. Over half of us felt that the curfew laws were too restricting. Most believed that if more was done to show the good aspects of teenagers, instead of merely the bad ones, adults would have a more favorable image of teenagers.

Over one-third of all teenagers do at least some form of community service . A small minority argued that there were other activities available and that teenagers just did not take advantage of these opportunities, such as going to recreational centers or joining youth groups.

Las Vegas' growing homeless problem was also addressed, and we discussed whether people should be allowed to feed homeless people in the parks. The room was evenly divided on this issue.

One side felt that homeless people should take more personal responsibility and that it was not our job to feed them. They also felt that parks are for taxpaying families where it should be safe for children to play. The other side felt that as Americans we had a moral obligation to try to help them by providing more shelters and transportation when needed.

Eventually one teenager suggested a compromise: Why not create a charity-based bus that could move the homeless out of the parks and into the shelters? Many people changed their point of view in this discussion as it provided an honest and deep look into our society.

The last discussion was of two topics blended into one: the alarmingly fast growth of Las Vegas and the possible scarcity of water in the valley. Twenty-one of the students were opposed to setting restrictions on growth under the impression there were other solutions. They felt alternatives such as educational awareness, reverse osmosis and using artificial plants instead of real ones would solve the crisis.

The minority felt that if this growth continued, our city would run out of water. They pointed to the fact that Lake Mead is already at an alarmingly low level and that we will not have enough water to accommodate this continued growth.

While our group rarely unanimously agreed on any one issue, we all learned a valuable lesson true to the very essence of democracy itself. While we all expressed different opinions, some in stark contrast to one another, we all learned the need to compromise and listen to different points of view.

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