HomeMy WebLinkAbout1965-03-YOUTH-rpt Summary Report of Ad Hoc Committee on Lexington Youth.pdf SUMMARY REPORT OF AD HOC CIIIITTEE ON LEXINGTON YOUTH
On September 29, 1964 a group of Lexington citizens, disturbed at the
growing number of accounts in the newspaper and elswhere indicating an increase
in teen-age rebellious and anti-social behavior, held a meeting in Estabrook Hall
to discuss Lexington Youth. About 50 representatives of local agencies, com-
mittees and organizations heard Lt. James Corr, Juvenile Officer, Lexington police
department; Dr. Henry Isaksen, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Lexington
School Department; and Dr. Morton B. Newman, Director of Mystic Valley Children's
Clinic speak about the amount and some of the causes of Juvenile Delinquency and
anti-social behavior in our teen-agers After some discussion, no immediate
course of action being agreed upon, a pro-tem Executive Committee of the group
present was formed, to study the subject further and report back to the full body
at a future date. This group of volunteers has since called itself the "Ad Hoc
Committee on Lexington Youth. " A list of its members appears at the end of this
report.
The Ad Hoc Committee has met almost weekly since September. Several
meetings were devoted to discussing the problems of growing up in Lexington from
varying points of view of the committee members. Citizens of Lexington and other
towns with a special interest or background were heard - Mrs. Spengler, ex-
president of the Arlington Council on Youth; Colby Kelley, organizer and advisor
of the "Promenaders"; Mr. William Tappley, High School teacher, class of 58 LHS;
Dr. Henry Isaksen (see above) ; Mr. Mark Richmond, Massachusetts Council on Crime
and Delinquency; Mr. Mathias O'Malley, Community Consultant, Youth Service Board.
Four members of the committee conducted two interviews with volunteers from the
Student Council, who expressed teen agers Joint of view as they saw it. Two
open meetings were held. The first, on December 8, 1964 under the auspices of
the Lexington Mental Health Association presented Dr. Irving Kaufman, who is a
recognized authority on adolexcence problems. The second Sponsored by the PTA
Council and the Citizens Committee was a panel discussion by Mr. Charles John-
son, Principal Lexington High School, Dr. Floyd Taylor, minister,Fi rst Parish
Church, Dr. Henry Isaksen, and Mr. Colby Kelly. The moderator was Mr. Frank
DiGiammernio, president of PTA Council.
The Committee feels that while Lexington has no abnormal juvenile de-
linquency problem, and while our teen-agers are on the whole fine young people,
there is a great deal that could be done to improve the climate for growing up
in the town. A younger age of maturation combined with a lengthy period of
dependence which grows longer as the need for higher education increases, has
produced teen-age unrest , and in some cases rebellion everywhere. We have found,
however, that the entire teca-age population is suffering because of the re-
bellion of many and the truly anti-social behavior of a few. Most organized
social activities for them have been suspended or curtailed. High school dances
have been stopped, as have the Cary Hall record hops formerly given by the Fire
Department. Private parties are few and far between because of the prevalence
of party crashing and drinking. There is a lack of any place for the teen-agers
to congregate which is in any way theirs. The Hayden, which meets many of the
recreation need of our younger people, does not seem to meet the needs of teen-
agers; the downtown area, Brighams, the sidewalks even to some extent the public
parks are "off-limits" for most teen-agers. Many do meet there, but are asked '
to move on by the police and risk being accused of "loitering, " a punishable
offense. The emphasis on scholarship and academic achievement in Lexington causes
great pressures on many students, and leaves the poorcrr•,aninspired student search-
ing for an outlet. Perhaps most important of all, there is insufficient opport-
unity for meaningful dialogue or communication between the youth and the adults
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in the community. We feel that the young people would like to be considered mature
enough to be involved in the plann,ng and car .ng out of programs designed for
their own benefit, and to have some responsibility for their own behavior.
The Ad Hoc Committee feels that these months of discussion and research
have brought us to bha point where we have found a real need for a permanent
organization, more nearly representative of the interested citizens in Lexington,
which could study, and make recommendations for action concerning such specific
areas as:
1. The maximum utilization of all existing facilities available to
the youth of Lexington
2. Extablishment of additional teen-age facilities
3. Possibility of more vocational training for students with abilities
along these lines
4. Setting up a job center, for paid or volunteer work
We are as'dng the orginal group to attend a meeting in Estabrook Hall on
March 31, at 8 p.m. to take action on the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee
that a permanent organization be established. Enclosed is a copy of the proposed
by-laws for such an organization, which we hope you will study before the meeting.
Those who attended or visited the Ad Hoc Committee are as follows:
Mr. Wayne McRae Mrs Martin Sussman
Mrs. Ralph Semon Mrs. agint1Rawls
Mr. & Mrs. Frank DiGammernjo Mrs. invert Fowle
hr. Charles Johnson Mrs John Morrall
Mr. William Casey Mrs. Erik Mollo-Christensen
Dr. Henry Isaksen Mrs. John Cahn
Mr. Colby Kelly Rev. r'loyd Taylor
Mr. Fred Thurlow Rev. Richard Lund
Mr. Murry Satz Rev. Harold Handley
Mrs. Oscar Lowenshhuss Rev. Landon Lindsey
Mrs. Eugene Pike Mr. Edward Gourdeau
Mrs. Melvin Rosenthal Mrs Russell Wolfe
Mr. William Tappley Miss Lynn Holden