A new policy at the mall penalizes all teenagers–and the stores where they shop–for the poor behavior of a few.
Ah, Rushmore Mall—the place where everyone of every age was welcomed to come in and check out the many stores that lined the walls of the mall to every exit. Also, to hit up the food court to check out the various smells that were lingering throughout the mall. The good ol’ days of just enjoying a place where most of my childhood memories are stored with immense joy and happiness. I recently wanted to take my little sister to also make good memories and enjoy ourselves . . . just to be asked to leave and be slowly ushered towards the entrance doors by mall security. I was under the age of 17 at the time, without an adult.
As some may know, Rushmore Mall is no more, but the uprising of Uptown Rapid is shining in the light with all glory, though it blinds most of us with the new rules and regulations.
There are two of interest. The first, called the Behavioral Code of Conduct, is just general common sense (for most people); they are not too bad, honestly, given some of the bad experiences I have witnessed in the mall, and I am glad they did something about it. But—did they do too much and ruin it?
Still under mall policies, the next sheet that has the teenagers simmering with anger and leaving parents questioning why? This would be the new Youth Escort Policy, which forbids people under age 16 from the mall without an adult:
It is nice that they finally decided to really lay down some rules on parents with children under the age of 12, but 17? They are old enough to drive a car and have a part time job, but they are not allowed to go to the place that was practically made for teenagers to hang out with friends? And what about the coming-of-age teenagers that want to go to stores within the mall, that sell to groups of that age? I understand and agree that this generation of teenagers is a bit out of hand, but to take away one of the few places that teenagers hang out is a little unfair. Sure, Rapid City has a bunch of public parks, the Press Start arcade, and a few skate parks, but . . . that’s it.
Taking myself as an example, I do not mind the outdoors, there are a lot of outdoor activities to do, but as a teenager, I have a different mindset from an 8-year-old. I do not really have that “go all day and play” type of mindset when I go to a park. A lot of teenagers don’t, even adults don’t.
Taking one of the main places for teenagers away is like taking a community sports center welcome to all ages and deciding that people of age 20 are too immature based on a few situations. Just because a small group of 20-year-olds were messing around with the tennis rackets does not mean that every person that is aged 20 does that.
I notice that teenagers who work at the mall are still allowed in the mall without an escort, which makes sense, but at the same time it doesn’t, because say a 16-year-old works at American Eagle inside the mall: what happens if that 16-year-old is with a parent and is shopping around and they went against one of the rules, which got them banned? Are they still allowed to go to work? Or would they have to follow the rules like everyone else? Which makes this rule have no reason to exist.
Also, my last thing (if you’re still here😅) to point out about this whole thing is wondering how much revenue the mall and the shops within are going to lose. It hasn’t been the best before the rules, but now I feel like it’s going to drop dramatically. Without having those teenagers in the stores, in the mall, what’s the point of keeping the mall open?
I was looking at the Google reviews on Uptown Rapid and one of the most common comments I saw was for an update on the building itself instead of rules. Some were hoping they would finally update the bathrooms or fix the leaks in the roof. So, why worry about the rules more than making the building up to date? We will never know unfortunately. 🤷
I think that the new management of Uptown Rapid, should relook over the Youth Escort rules and revise a few things, just because one group of pre-teens or teenagers were loud, stealing, or just disrespectful should face consequences for their actions but not everyone else within those age groups.
The Pine Needle 