Van Nuys : Cable Show Lets Teens Air Their Opinions

Twittering occasionally and making last-minute checks on their hair, wardrobe and makeup, the 19 students assembled at Cablevision Industries Studio 2 took their broadcast debut very seriously.

During a taping of the cable-access television show, “Saving the American Dream,” the Birmingham High School journalism magnet students were slated to defend their generation and dispel myths about young people under the rapid-fire questioning of host Mark Isler.

Which is exactly what they did.

It’s tough to be a teenager, especially when adults are quick to stereotype the younger generation, the students assured Isler, who had asked school officials to send a contingent of magnet students to appear on the show.

“People have more problems now,” student Nicole Murray said, citing the prevalence of drugs and street violence. “It’s hard to grow up now. We have [to think about] AIDS.”

And contrary to what some adults believe, students do care about their education, said Seanna Spears, who takes public transportation to her Van Nuys school each day.

“A lot of us want to go to college, but a lot of us can’t afford it,” Seanna told Isler. “So the American Dream would be to have an equal opportunity to go to college without paying a fee for it.”

The students also briefly tackled race relations, agreeing that it’s all right for groups to self-segregate, so long as the divisions are not born of hatred.

“You should be with whoever you feel comfortable with . . . as long as you remember where you came from, your culture,” Seanna said.

Although sharing their 15 minutes of fame in a large group left a few students out of the limelight, most agreed that the taping was a worthwhile experience.

“The program was very necessary. It gave young people like ourselves a chance to express ourselves, to fill in the gaps,” said Morris Chaisson.

And, they laughed, for the half a dozen students among them who plan on careers in broadcasting, it wasn’t a half-bad start.