Hundreds, possibly thousands, of inner city teens have virtually taken up residence in Schenley High School, roaming the halls and turning the place into a regular hangout for teens, Pittsburgh Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt said, calling for the building to be closed."Schenley has become a gathering place for these youth gangs, clogging the hallways, filling the classrooms. Some even bring lunches and make an entire day of it," Roosevelt said, releasing a report on which he based his decision to close Schenley.
According to the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Carbolic Smoke Ball, Schenley has evolved over the past two decades into a "theoretical magnet" for teens who not only "spend an average of seven hours daily" there, but "have virtually come to identify with the institution, going so far as to don special gangsta-style garb such as jackets and sweaters with a large S emblazoned on them."
Initially, city officials had assumed the S jackets were store-brand clothing purchased at Sam's Club, a popular discount shopping cooperative. "Sadly, this proved not to be the case," the report states. "Rather, it appears that these teens have so dominated the population inside the school that they now act as if it is their own. Repeatedly, researchers from our staff heard young people refer to 'our school' or 'my school,' as if they felt some form of ownership stake."
"Through neglect and passivity, the city has essentially allowed an entire culture of identity to build up among these young people who now reflexively come to Schenley for entire days, as if shopping malls and street corners no longer existed. Without decisive action, such as closure or possibly burning the place down, this culture of identification will perpetuate itself," the report concludes.
Statistics incorporated with the report show that the teens, on average, seem to spend four years before apparently losing interest in the building, but that invariably, a new cohort of teenagers begins to loiter in its hallways and classrooms.
"Many bring lunches and reading materials," Roosevelt told city officials."Various sub-gangs, interested in everything from football to music and drama have been known to form. I cannot begin to describe the terror some of our staff feel when attempting to go about their business, only to be confronted with groups of 20 to 30 kids just sitting in various rooms,staring forward, peppering them with bizarre questions that dwell on the hypotenuse of a triangle."
"I'm not making this up," Roosevelt said. "Some kids actually did that to one of our staff yesterday. They asked her to explain the meaning of Beowulf. How you would feel if some young tough walked up to your mother or sister and demanded that she explain Beowulf?"
"Think of that," the superintendent said, "and you'll understand why we have no choice but to close this building."
