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Lurman called America's malls the "final frontier in the fight to eliminate teenist discrimination in our society."
"Where, if not the mall, can youths go to find a safe space in which to express their individuality free from the disapproving glare of society as a whole?" asked Lurman, author of the 1997 book Everybody Ridin' My Ass: The Youth Experience In The American Mallscape. "Our young people desperately need a place where they can just chill and do they thing in peace."
Northwood Mall has refused to issue Cuellar and her friends an apology.
"While we are disappointed that this unfortunate incident had to happen, we stand by the actions of Mr. Jojo," Northwood Mall general manager Ted Parrott said. "For the safety of all of our patrons, we must strictly enforce certain rules of conduct."
According to Cuellar, this is not the first time mall authority figures have unfairly gotten up in her face. On Oct. 19, employees at Northwood Mall video arcade The Game Den reportedly jumped on Cuellar about spilling soda on a Tekken III machine. While the sign at The Game Den's entrance clearly prohibits the drinking of soda on arcade premises, Cuellar insisted that she wasn't drinking soda, merely carrying it in her hand.
On Oct. 24, the iron fist of mall authority struck again--this time in the form of Gadzooks assistant manager Naomi Gronson. According to Cuellar, Gronson began bitching out Cuellar and Beresford for trying on clothing. Gronson claimed that the girls tied up one of the store's two fitting rooms for more than an hour, leaving as many as 25 items on the re-hang rack without purchasing a single item.
"[Gronson] went all psycho on us, just because we didn't buy anything at her store," Cuellar said. "Well, just because all her clothes are gay-ass, that don't make it my fault."
So disgusted is Cuellar with her mistreatment at the hands of Northwood personnel, she is considering a boycott of the mall.
"If I want to deal with some retard who wants to ride my ass for no reason, I'll just take the bus," Cuellar said. "That fuckin' driver on the E-line is almost as bad as Mr. Big Shot Mall Cop."