“What would you do?” - Teens in Print

BOSTON TEENS IN PRINT May/june 2012 “What wouldyou do?”Shopliftingtest caserevealspeople’sprejudicesA special reportBy Alice Xiao, Geraldine Vittini,Edalina Wang // Staff Writers andMakiz Nasirahmad // Senior EditorAyoung, Hispaniclookinggirl strolled into asmall corner store for thefirst time on a recent afternoon,wearing a hoodedsweatshirt and carryinga bag slung over hershoulder.The bodega, in a busysection of JamaicaPlain, caters to mostlylocal Hispanic adultsand has a loyalclientele.AFH photo by Seijah DrakeContinued on page 3• CHRIS BROWN REBOUNDS PAGE 10 • ACHY BREAKY HEARTS PAGE 14 • WHITNEY, PRO AND CON Page 20In partnership with

2 / BOSTON TEENS IN PRINT / may/june 2012 / bostontip.com•••••• •••••• Volume★★ContentsPage 4 … T timeFare hikes and dirty vehicles unfair to teens.Page 6 … All decked outCard sharks lose in school.Page 7… Flipping their lidsHats off in the classroom.Page 7… Skirting the issueGirl, are you really wearing that to school?Page 11 … Ring of truthThe married life as we know it.Page 17… Pet peevesQuit doggin’ the dogs and cats!★MEET THE STAFF.....12-13AFH photo by Lena Yee46( )Sections17AFH photo by Michelle Nguyencover story........................3transit authority..............4shading the truth.............5wassup in school............6,7getting personal...............8abroad look.......................9newsstand........................10relationships....................11word.............................14-17stuff..................................18fashion five-O....................19a&e.....................................20The sporting life..............21snark attack....................21tip o’ the hat............... 22,23AFH photo by Bill LeVIII, No. 37Art/PhotographyArtists for HumanitySenior EditorsAshley BarkerTucker S. GayeAlejandro MartinezMakiz NasirahmadAlicia PerezMelissa RodriguezStaff EditorsShanique LewisMarmarin NasirahmadShanae SaddlerStaff WritersLa`Neece ByrdCaroline DepinaTania DuncanRobert HinesJose IbarraRalph T. KarnuahNenser KruaOdelyne LamourTaika LamyJalayah LawrenceDennis MembahShamsi MohamedParnian NasirahmadAudrey NgankamSandy NguyenLizandro NogueiraRodrigo SaavedraMussuba SamatiIeisha SampsonJocelyn SantosPenda SeckLucelina SousaGeraldine VittiniEdalina WangAlice XiaoContributing WritersJoyanne BromeTawndalaya DaRozaLissette DeLeonChandlor LylesSasha NdamTHE BOSTON GLOBERobert M. Powers, AdvisorIrene Mauch, T.i.P. Production DirectorRon Williams, T.i.P. DesignerWRITEBOSTONBetty Southwick, DirectorT.i.P. CoordinatorRic Kahn

cover storyContinued from page 1As the girl surveyed the aisles, in walked oneof the regulars, a middle-aged Hispanic womanwith brilliant red hair. When she saw the girlshove a pack of crackers into her bag, thewoman loudly confronted the thief, upbraidingher over and over again about stealing.“If she were black,” the woman later disdainfullyexplained in an interview, “I would havegone straight to the manager [rather than approachher directly] because black people likefighting too much.”In this case, the assumed criminal was oneof a group of female Teens in Print reportersand associates performing an experiment. Thisundertaking, conducted over several months,was meant to gauge bystanders’ reactions toyoung people of different races – white, black,Asian and one appearing to be Hispanic – whopretended to be shoplifting.With the red-haired lady leading the way,the results of this test at first glance revealedpeople’s prejudices based only on race. Butjust as in the Trayvon Martin case that isunfolding before the nation – and in manyother incidents – a deeper look shows a morecomplex set of factors colliding.In the TiP experiment, the outcomes dependedon the age, gender, and race of boththe alleged thieves and bystanders, and alsoto what extent the shoplifters and even theobservers were perceived as not being part ofthe usual customer base.“The individual will make a judgment call onanother person’s morality based on their ownprejudices,” said Laura Hansen, an assistantprofessor of sociology at Western New EnglandUniversity. “People want to simplify theirlives, so they jump to conclusions.”The idea for this project, a joint effortbetween Teens in Print and the New EnglandCenter for Investigative Reporting, wasinspired by the television show “Primetime:What Would You Do?” The program attemptsto capture people’s reactions to fabricatedscenarios involving crimes or ethical dilemmas.For the Teens in Print setup, the owner ofthe bodega agreed to allow his store to beused as the staging ground. The names of thecustomers – and the store – are being withheldbecause the circumstances surroundingthe shoplifting were contrived.Attracting the most attention from people inthe bodega was a white teen who appearedto be shoplifting. Half of the six people whowitnessed the purported crime either directlyconfronted the teen or notified the owner.“This surprises me because white peoplehave been seen as the ‘innocent race,’ ” saidAlison Davey, a sophomore at Boston CommunityLeadership Academy, who is white. “Butthat’s wrong. We’re just like everyone else.”Hansen offered another perspective: Shesaid the white teen drew the most repercussionsbecause she stood out in an Hispanicneighborhood.“You’re planting lavender petunias,” Hansensaid. “All of a sudden, a white petunia pops up– that’s an anomaly.”The two would-be shoplifters who attractedthe least response were an Asian and anAfrican-American. In a predominantly Hispaniccommunity, they were less conspicuous thanthe white teen. Of the observers, only two outof five, or 40 percent, confronted these allegedthieves or alerted the store owner.One elderly Hispanic man at the bodegaoffered this stereotype when interviewed:“Orientals are the most educated people inthe world. They never take anything that’s nottheirs.”As for the incident involving the black shamshoplifter, one Boston student interviewedsaid he expected a larger percentage of thebystanders to react strongly out of ignorance.“I think there is a racial bias,” said JinwooChoi, a senior at BCLA.But Hansen has a theory for why so fewpeople did intervene. She, too, believes thatprejudice is at fault, expounding on the redheadedwoman’s rant.“Fear,” she said “was [likely] a factor basedon stereotypes.”In the case of the TiP reporter who appearedto be Hispanic, three of the seven people, or43 percent of those who noticed her pretendingto steal from the store, confronted herdirectly or went to the owner. Many of thosepeople, and other onlookers who reacted tothe team of TiP reporters and associates, knowthe owner personally.“Age, race, familiarity…. There are millionsand millions of layers [that have an influence],”said Hansen. “Prejudice is an attitude, and it isvery difficult to change an attitude.”During the trials, the two youngest peoplewho witnessed the pseudo-shopliftings didnot react at all. Both were teenagers. Theirages might have been the reason why theyremained silent.“Personally, if it was me,” said Choi, who is19, “I wouldn’t say anything because it’s notmy business.” ■The New England Center for Investigative Reporting(necir-bu.org) is a nonprofit newsroom,specializing in investigative journalism, that isbased at Boston University. NECIR’s collaborationwith Teens in Print is funded by a grantfrom The Hearst Foundations, and is intendedto teach Boston public high school studentsinvestigative reporting skills. Also contributingto this report were Alexandra Burris, an NECIRintern, and Sarah Kuranda, an NECIR teachingassistant.bostontip.com / may/june 2012 / BOSTON TEENS IN PRINT / 3