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Likely to provoke a disturbance?
Oooohhhh, are they gonna get letters...........and I'll be sending copies of any correspondence to this paper for the opinion page.
I mean, every time I'm there I see shirts telling me I'm gonna burn in hell --in those exact words--but I guess that's not "offensive."
The problem is mall officials won't clarify what is and isn't acceptable and the code itself, in the example above, is vague.
Likely to provoke a disturbance?
We suggest mall officials consider using some common sense also.
Jennifer M. Phelps
News-Leader
Lydia Smith and her mom were eating lunch at the mall Saturday while shopping for new church clothes when Lydia saw a mall security officer ask a nearby teenager to remove a bandanna.
Lydia was wearing a bandanna, too, folded in a triangle and tied under her hair.
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The officer handed Lydia's mother, Susan Smith, a printed copy of the Battlefield Mall Code of Conduct, an official document prohibiting mall patrons from engaging in certain activities while on mall property.
Without knowing, Lydia had violated No. 10 on the list of 17 offenses: "failing to be fully clothed or wearing apparel which is likely to provide a disturbance or embroil other groups or the general public in open conflict."
What type of clothing and accessories are prohibited?
The problem is mall officials won't clarify what is and isn't acceptable and the code itself, in the example above, is vague.
"Some people might wear things that upset people's beliefs, but I just don't understand the whole thing about not being able to wear the bandanna," Lydia said. "I just wore it that day to give my outfit a bit of color."
What the public needs to understand, said Christine Moses, director of mall marketing, is the mall is privately owned by Simon Property Group Inc. Behavior on its premises can be regulated.
"The bottom line is we want to have an environment (conducive) to shopping. Offensive apparel does not fit in with that environment," she said.
Moses couldn't say how a colorful bandanna with flowers, smiley faces and peace signs is offensive or how it jeopardizes patrons' safety.
But the mall's primary responsibility is to protect its customers, tenants and employers, said Les Morris, spokesman for Simon Property Group.
"There has been no relaxation in that. ... People have expectations when they come to the mall. Our professional-management teams are charged with meeting and exceeding those expectations."
Similar policies are in place at 285 Simon properties in 39 states and Puerto Rico.
ENFORCEMENT
Neither Moses nor Morris would say how many security officers patrol Battlefield Mall, whether security has been bumped up in recent months to address an increase in problem activity, such as that associated with gangs, or how many code violations occur in a given week.
"We never detail any of the specifics related to security," Morris said. "We feel that it's just our business and could compromise our actual security."
Moses said the Battlefield Mall policy has been amended in the past year, but she wouldn't say why.
Security officers are trained to handle code violations as they arise, she said.
When someone is breaking the rules, a security officer will ask the violator to correct the offense.
According to the code, if patrons fail or refuse to comply they can be asked to leave the property. If they fail to leave, they can be arrested and prosecuted for criminal trespass.
Smith said her daughter's encounter with the security officer was very gentle. Smith explained to her daughter that the officer was trying to apply the policy even-handedly.
"Later it struck us as humorous, because the other people we saw wearing bandannas included a girl about Lydia's age, a man in overalls and a pregnant woman," the Ozark woman said.
So you don't know you're in violation of the code until you're in violation of the code?
Morris disagreed but refused to itemize a list of inappropriate apparel: "The code of conduct is pretty clear and, you know, I think common sense should prevail."
MALL SALES
The code also cites such violations as using obscene language — including religious or ethnic slurs — running, littering and loitering on mall property.
But the dress code seems to hit closer to home with folks. And at least one Battlefield Mall retailer, JCPenney, sells one of the known forbidden items. Their bandannas sell for $4.50 and come in black, white, blue and red.
"How is that right?" Springfield resident Charlotte Jack wanted to know.
The fact just is, Morris said.
"There are things we sell that it's OK to own them, but to use them in the mall setting is inappropriate."
Simon Property Group has no intention of putting a ban on what products individual stores choose to offer, Morris said.
"If we have a customer that complains about something they find offensive in a certain store, we advise them to call that tenant ... to demonstrate their opposition in that way."
PUBLICIZING
Didn't know the mall had a code of conduct?
Neither did Springfield resident Joyce McCammon, who called Lydia's encounter with the security officer "outrageous."
"If they're going to pick on a little kid like that, then they shouldn't let 15-year-olds run around with halter tops."
No one seems to know if halter tops are also a violation.
Morris said there has been some form of behavior code in place at Simon malls for at least 20 years.
At Battlefield Mall, copies of the code are posted at each of eight entrances and have been since Moses started working there five years ago, she said.
Wonder how many people know that or actually read them?
"I've never seen one," Jack said. "If they want to enforce it, they better market it better."
Keeping track of how often the notes are seen and read is difficult to figure, given the 11 million or so people who visit the mall each year, Moses said.
She said there are no plans to post the code anywhere else, such as the mall's Web site.
"How is that right?" Springfield resident Charlotte Jack wanted to know.
The fact just is, Morris said.
"There are things we sell that it's OK to own them, but to use them in the mall setting is inappropriate."
Simon Property Group has no intention of putting a ban on what products individual stores choose to offer, Morris said.
"If we have a customer that complains about something they find offensive in a certain store, we advise them to call that tenant ... to demonstrate their opposition in that way."
PUBLICIZING
Didn't know the mall had a code of conduct?
Neither did Springfield resident Joyce McCammon, who called Lydia's encounter with the security officer "outrageous."
"If they're going to pick on a little kid like that, then they shouldn't let 15-year-olds run around with halter tops."
No one seems to know if halter tops are also a violation.
Morris said there has been some form of behavior code in place at Simon malls for at least 20 years.
At Battlefield Mall, copies of the code are posted at each of eight entrances and have been since Moses started working there five years ago, she said.
Wonder how many people know that or actually read them?
"I've never seen one," Jack said. "If they want to enforce it, they better market it better."
Keeping track of how often the notes are seen and read is difficult to figure, given the 11 million or so people who visit the mall each year, Moses said.
She said there are no plans to post the code anywhere else, such as the mall's Web site.
