Sunday,
July 6, 2003
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Staying safe, staying quiet
By RALUCA BARZU
Goshen College Sunday, July 6, 2003
On streets near the Georgia World Congress Center, men and women with white safari hats watch over Mennonite youth as they come and go from their rooms at the Hilton, the Hyatt and the Marriott Marquis. These men and women are members of the Ambassador Force of Downtown Atlanta and have been alerted to the presence of the nearly 8,000 Mennonites, more than 5,000 of them registered for the youth convention. Several ambassadors said they enjoy helping the youth, whom they described as genuinely interested in the city and not merely looking for directions. Also keeping an eye on the youth are 18 Community Life staff members, all Mennonites, who walk the hallways in each hotel from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. Joy and Patrick Cotchen are the two head coordinators who travel between the hotels to ensure that a 12:39 a.m. curfew is respected. “When students notice the orange staff shirts in the hallways, it all quiets down,” Patrick Cotchen said. The Cotchens said they were pleased to have hotel security members backing them up in enforcing the regulations. At times some youth have played their guitars in the hallway, taken elevators for joy rides and explored the buildings excessively. Several youth spit off of the 10th floor of one hotel, and were immediately disciplined. Also, some hotel guests have complained about noise levels, and the penalties meted out have varied with youth sponsors. “There are a few that we needed to send off to bed,” Joy Cotchen said. Still, hotel officials mentioned that floors do quiet down after 12:40 a.m. At the hotels’ front desks, officials spoke of the youth groups with enthusiasm and mentioned that no major issues have developed so far. Stephen Stewart, rooms director at the Hyatt, said, “It’s just great to be so busy during this time of the year.” Katy Pando, public relations manager for GWCC Security Services, described the Mennonite youth groups as “fun to watch.” She added that they are creating a good experience for everyone they meet. “It’s just great to watch a bunch of nice men and women,” she said, “and we can see in their faces that they’re happy.”  |
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