By: Cara Latham
ROOSEVELT Borough teens will soon have one night a week where they can gather with each other and participate in activities geared specifically toward them.
That’s because Roosevelt’s Recreation Department is in the process of planning a weekly "Teen Night," which will feature concerts, winter excursions like ice skating, trips to local malls for holiday shopping, and a place to hang out and play sports, said Recreation Director Eric Schubiger.
"The kids can go and have a little freedom, but obviously be supervised at the same time," he said.
While the teen night is still being planned and organizers are still gathering information and input from parents and teenagers who have already made some suggestions, the Recreation Department is looking at the possibility of holding the teen night on Fridays, he said.
Mr. Schubiger said the department has found out that the Roosevelt Public School’s gymnasium will be available on some Friday nights throughout the school year and is looking into bringing different sports equipment there for them to use.
"It’s all preliminary," he said. "We have a great facility at the Roosevelt Public School gym. It’s there, and we want to utilize that as much as possible."
While the Recreation Department wants the event to be open to all teenagers, the department is looking at targeting those in grades six through 10, because "once you get to the age where the students start to drive, you really lose" their interest, he said.
In addition, Mr. Schubiger said he has heard from local teens that there are a few local bands that are just getting started, and kids would be really interested in attending concerts held by them.
"Nothing’s been set yet, and we haven’t been booked yet, but the thing with the concert idea is that the kids really seem to want to come out and do that," he said. "Music is a big thing because it gets them to come out and sort of be in an environment just for teenagers."
While an exact fee has not yet been determined, an event like a concert would likely require a small admissions fee, he said.
"We want to provide something to the community that is not overly expensive at all, but we also are not in a position to totally subsidize" the cost, he said. "We’re trying to come to a happy medium. We’re in the position now of trying to get them to let us know what they want."
Hopefully, some events will start being scheduled soon, he said, adding that organizers are probably looking at the end of November or the beginning of December to "get something going," he said. And the Recreation Department also wants to make sure the Borough Council is on board before it moves forward with anything.
Even though the Recreation Department already holds movie nights and other activities that are more family-oriented, organizers are hoping to reach out specifically to teenagers after having heard from the community that the teenagers "definitely want something for themselves" where they’re not exactly "mixed in with the entire community," he said.
"We’ve always tried to accommodate the teenagers in town, but from time to time, a parent comes to us and asks us if there’s anything we can do," he said. "It’s definitely something we want to concentrate on. We want to really hone in on that area right now."
Programs that the Recreation Department holds for children at elementary school age are suggested by parents and teacher who recommend what they think will work, but organizers are looking to gain feedback and support of the teenagers themselves, Mr. Schubiger said.
Roosevelt holds a lot of "community-type activities" including special events from time to time, "but once in a while, it’s good, I think, for one particular group" to have their own events, he said.
Borough teens who want to give input into the Teen Nights should call Mr. Schubiger at (609) 448-0539 ext. 3.

