Somerville Theatre bans (young) kids from entering after 6 pm. Let's discuss it here

[ron_newman]

This week's Somerville News has an article about the Somerville Theatre's policy of banning children under 12 8* from entering the theatre after 6 pm, even if they are accompanied by adults.

Is the theatre's policy a service to its customers who want a peaceful movie experience, or is it unfair discrimination against families with young children?

I'm posting this because we can have a more civilized discussion here than on the Somerville News blog comments. Ian Judge, the theatre's manager, reads this community, so we may be able to provide useful feedback to him here.

* Edited 11:55 am to add: I have a serious factual issue with this article. It says the policy applies to children under 12, but the theatre's website and exterior signs say it's for children under 8. That's a significant difference -- maybe significant enough to change people's opinions.

Second edit, 3 pm: Ian Judge has clarified that the theatre's policy is to exclude children under 8, not 12, from entering after 6 pm. He had made an erroneous statement to the News reporter which very unfortunately made it into the published article. Also, here is Ian's response to the specific incident detailed in the News article.

Comments

[georgy.livejournal.com]

Really? That's annoying. What's wrong with a skate park? That would be great for a lot of people.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Noise and graffiti.

I've not seen one skate park that wasn't tagged all over the place.

Noise? Sure, the city curfew for parks is 10pm.
Do YOU want kids skating next to your home at 9:59pm?

Yes, it's absolutely a NIMBY issue.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

> I've not seen one skate park that wasn't tagged all over the place.

So make it officially okay for that park.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

So, screw anyone who lives there who wants to live in an area that doesn't have graffiti?

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

What exactly is it that you don't want? You don't want to see art painted on walls ever?

If encouraged and done well, it can be nicer than a lot of the publicly-funded murals I've seen around.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Why don't you go ask the people who live on Walnut Street, next to the soon to be opened "Ed Leathers Community Park" what they want and don't want in the park next to their homes.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Yay non sequitur!

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

sorry, it completely follows, because I was discussing what people who live in the area where that park is, want.

Too bad you can't follow that.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Look, if you just want to rant, there's davis_snark over thataway.

I was trying to actually have a discussion.

But anyway: Somerville is four square miles. While the concerns of the people immediately nearby are important, so are the concerns of every person who lives near enough to make use of our shared open spaces.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Well, it seems, then, that skaters aren't a big enough voice to get what they want in this four square mile city.

This new park on Walnut Street benefits everyone.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Or...

pity them, for they need to get some real joy in their life so that they can see how great it is to have a neighborhood full of kids being creative and doing something healthy. :-)

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Graffiti isn't "great"--even when creativity is used in its design, it's still defacing public property.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

As someone who frequented several skate parks growing up, I have to admit they do get very very loud and do unfortunately lend themselves to noise issues and otherwise, as opposed to a regular playground/park. Which is lame, because even at 24 I was looking forward to a skatepark, but I understand their reasoning. No skate park I attended was quite so in a residential area.