By KATIE DOUGLAS

When a group of teenagers walks into a store of any kind, they are often presented with the question: “Can I take your bags?” If the teens answer “no,” they are often asked to leave the store. If they answer “yes,” their bags will be held at the counter until they have decided to leave. Whether or not they had planned on stealing anything, high school students are automatically labeled as trouble makers and people who are not trustworthy.

It is almost as if someone has put a big red sign that says “Danger, teenager alert” on their forehead.

On more than one occasion, I have been personally targeted with the prejudice that teenagers are always up to no good.

On Vashon, my friends and I have been watched and observed by store employees while we walk up and down the aisles. Their eyes are constantly on us, making sure we don’t stash something away in our pockets or purses.

Not only is this disrespectful, but it is disheartening as well. The feeling of having numerous pairs of eyes focused on you while you are pondering what type of shampoo to buy is one of the worst feelings in the world. It is frustrating how someone would label me as a dishonest person because of my age.

The labeling is even more extensive off the Island, at least from my experience. In five out of 10 stores that I entered in Portland, Ore., recently, employees have pulled me over and asked to hold my bags at the counter. The first time they asked me, my reaction was “Sure, why not?” After about the third time I had been asked that same question, I realized that they were asking me because of my age and the negative connotations it conjures. When my answer changed from a “yes” to a “no,” I was no longer allowed in the store.

“Stores should not persecute teenagers when they first walk in to stores; employees should look at each kid individually,” said Vashon High School junior Claire Held.

Youth in the Vashon community as well as anywhere else need to be trusted and given the same respect that adults are given — and not just in stores, but in general as well. About 25 percent of shoplifters are kids, and 55 percent of adult shoplifters claim they started shoplifting in their teens, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention. But even with those statistics, far more young people never steal a thing, making employees’ behavior unfair and even discriminatory.

“The way employees judge kids should be based on the history of shoplifting in each individual store,” Held added. “It’s rude for them (employees) to automatically think that just because I’m a 17-year-old high school student I’m going to shoplift.”

Trusting young adults will not only provide both local businesses with more costumers. It will also strengthen the bond between the youth and adults in the Vashon community.

— Katie Douglas is a junior at Vashon High School and has lived on Vashon her whole life.