By: Claudia Casal
Culture Editor
From the 1970s to the early 2010s, Los Gatos teens had a dedicated place to hang out with their friends. The Venue was a place for teens to do just that. It was a community cornerstone for over 40 years as not only a place for musical acts to perform, but more importantly, a safe place for high schoolers to form friendships and express themselves in a town that otherwise offers little to teenagers. Now, more than ever, we need to bring The Venue back.
When surveyed by the Times Herald, 76 percent of students from Los Gatos High School said that they simply went home after school. This highlights the problem that many teens like me have – we do not have a place to unwind and relax with our peers. A teen center would allow adolescents to socialize and unwind with their peers outside of school and provide a place for them to spend time with each other outside of their own homes. Teens could go there for multiple reasons, whether it be an extra place to study — beyond the busy library — or just to hang out. Currently, aside from the library, there aren’t many places where teens can socialize. Typically, the library is only a hub for quiet study sessions or picking up a book. After quarantining for two years, teenagers feel more alone than ever according to the Institute for Family studies. A teen center would help get them back on track.
According to the Department of Justice, teen centers can also provide many teenagers with an alternative to unsafe activities. Teen centers are a place for teenagers to develop interests while meeting and bonding with new people outside of school and extracurriculars. They provide teens with a chance to learn new activities or even receive added support for school assignments and personal problems.
Teen centers are already seeing success across the country. In Kamiah, Idaho, a teen center provided bored teenagers with a place to go, giving them several activities such as ping pong and foosball tables and even gaming consoles. The center became a sanctuary for the Kamiah teens and the parents, too. Knowing that their son or daughter was in a safe spot lifted a weight off their shoulders and improved the parents’ relationships with their teenagers.
The venue closed in 2012 due to budget restraints, so Los Gatos should reopen it to enrich the lives of hundreds of Los Gatos highschoolers. It could feature several games to entertain the teens while also hosting local bands. It wouldn’t need to be heavily staffed, as it would only need to be open for few hours after school during the weekdays.
(Sources: Department of Justice, Institute for Family Studies, Times Herald)