by Emma Cosca ’27

Last month, Westfield Wheaton Mall and Westfield Montgomery Mall tightened restrictions on teens with their new rule that requires anyone 17 or younger to be accompanied by an adult who is at least 21 after 3p.m., seven days a week. This rule follows several serious incidents involving teenagers, including a shooting at Wheaton Mall, a stabbing, fights, and burglaries. Malls have long served as reliable, accessible, third places for young people to socialize. Now they are gone.

An entire group is being punished for the actions of a small handful of bad actors. So, now what? Where can teens go every day? Montgomery County offers plenty of alternatives: bowling, rock climbing, ice skating, non-mall movie theaters, and escape rooms–they all share one massive catch: pay-to-play. Local parks close at sunset (which is as early as 4:30 p.m. in the winter), leaving virtually no free public spaces for adolescents to gather safely. Unless you have a friend with a spacious house and laid-back parents, you’re out of luck. Stripping away malls without offering free, safe alternatives only displaces youth crime; it does not solve it. Fun fact: those committing crimes usually don’t care as much about rules. For those who do, pray Rio doesn’t ban teens next.