Through the progression of time, there have been a lot of changes at the Bob Bov`e Branch Boys and Girls Club. Specifically in the year of 2020 until now, 2022. As there has been a positive change to the Boys and Girls Club, there also has been quite a bit of negative changes. Mainly talking about the pros and cons of the teen room in the Boys and Girls club. In 2020, the Boys and Girls Club started the process of remodeling the whole building. We had the privilege of receiving a large donation to remodel the club. The teen’s room was very small before and was made bigger. Recently we have had a new head boss and she has been making some changes that most teen members of the Boys and Girls Club don’t agree with. My first impression of her was very unprofessional because she came into the teen’s room, changing rules without introducing herself. This should be a job where you care for the kids you will serve and should be getting to know them first, and asking for their opinion. Especially with the teen’s room, we are older and we can make our decisions. Most adults think teenagers don’t know what they want or that they can’t make their own decisions, but they are wrong.

One big change that she has made to the Teen Room is that now we aren’t allowed to use our phones. Most teens are into social media and all about our phones. They are important for us to have, especially in the Boys and Girls club. What if we need to make an important call, or if our parents are texting or calling us, how would we know? Sure there is a phone in the front, but why should we have to use that one when our own parents/guardians bought us our phones? If our parents didn’t think we should have phones, they wouldn’t have bought them for us. In the teen room, we do lessons and activities to still keep us educated. We do put our phones away for that to be respectful but we are not allowed to use them for fun, use our social media, or text. The Boys and Girls club is an after school program, not school. So when these rules are being set and enforced, it makes it feel like we are in school. We come from spending an 8 hour day in school, to enjoy our afternoon and have fun, not be forced to follow so many unfair rules that we didn’t have a say in.

 Another rule that is being enforced that is wrong is teens aren’t allowed to bring backpacks or water,  into the gym. Now in the gym, teens play volleyball, soccer, basketball, football, etc. They are being active and they need to be able to have access to water close by them. Also, there is no water fountain in the gym but there used to be. Teens love going to the gym and playing sports but it makes it hard when we can’t even have water with us, and it is completely not healthy for it to be like that. This rule was enforced when the gym floor was remodeled. Spilled water from a water bottle will not ruin the gym floor. The unfixed roof will because when it rains it drips water into the gym and makes huge puddles of water. 

Another rule that is being enforced is teens are not allowed to sleep in the room. We were not given an explanation as to why we are not allowed to take naps. We come from a long day at school and sometimes we need to recharge our batteries. What if a teen is not able to sleep at home for whatever reason and the teen’s room is their safe place? Sometimes we don’t get enough sleep at night and we are tired. There is nothing wrong with taking naps, we are staying out of trouble in the streets, but napping gets us in trouble in the club?

  According to Joey Campillo, a member who has also been coming for years, lots of changes have been made. I asked him: What changes have there been in the Boys and Girls club that you don’t agree with? “I don’t agree with not being able to bring water, bags, and phone’s into the gym. Because what if we need to drink water, and we should be able to have water next to us while we are being active. What did you enjoy about the Boys and Girls club that now our new boss is now taking away? “We used to be able to go on our phones, go and get some food, and bring visitors. It is not a daycare. Staff and members can’t play sports together and that’s how you build support and a relationship”. What do you love about coming here?“I have good relationships with most people, and it is a safe place for me”.

As mentioned before she never got to know us, or our thoughts on the changes. We are not unreasonable, we know there are rules everywhere and that they need to be followed.  But why not make it so we come to an agreement. We already don’t have control of our lives because we are “just teenagers”. The teen’s room was the one place we felt we had a voice and it’s being taken away.