Teens hold park sit-in to send message of peace BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer JESSICA SMITH Local teenagers get the attention of passers-by during a peace demonstration in Thompson Park in Monroe on Tuesday evening. MONROE - All they are saying is, give peace a chance. A group of Monroe area teens, along with a few of their parents, rallied together at Thompson Park on Tuesday evening to make their wish for peace known. "I want world peace, truly," Jennifer Nemeth, 16, said. "Spread the love." The group of a couple of dozen gathered near the lake at the park shared Nemeth's sentiments. Ashley Hartman, a Monroe High School graduate in her first year at Rider University, organized the peace-loving protest. "We gave it a trial run on Sunday, and we felt good about it, so we got in touch with all of our friends," Hartman said. "People will drive past, and they'll kind of stop, and they'll beep and wave." Hartman said she has a "Give Peace a Chance" sign in her car, and while driving with her friend, Gina Anania, 16, they were listening to John Lennon, and became inspired. JESSICA SMITH Mike Soldano offered a local chicken the opportunity to join in the peace rally. "We're kids - we don't know what to do," Hartman said. "Even if we give someone walking by the peace sign, it'll show we care." The gathering was reminiscent of those of the hippies during the Vietnam era, with the tunes of Lennon and Bob Dylan intermingling with bubbles in the air, and plenty of hand-made signs proclaiming the teens' message. "I hope George Bush shows up in person," Mike Soldano, 18, said. "[I'll] give him a piece of my mind." Passing cars slowed in curiosity, then showed solidarity by waving and honking, or giving the peace sign. The peace-lovers offered white flowers to passers-by. Soldano, in an effort to involve all creatures in the love-in, picked up a chicken that happened to be wandering past. "He didn't even try to bite me," Soldano said. The group plans to continue its efforts, possibly gathering once a month to promote world peace in the community. "When I told my mom where I was going, she was like, 'Wait, really? I should stop by,' " said Erika Stampoulous, 16. "I hope adults show up, because I feel like people won't take us seriously, a bunch of teenagers in the grass." The original hippies of yore might have had the same feeling, but they made an indelible mark on history, nonetheless. At least one of the teens yearned to take the group's efforts a step further. "I like the whole idea," Alex Kliegman, 18, said. "If we really want this peace, we need to get out there and march, and talk to the people who make decisions, and tell them how we feel." Others in the crowd told Kliegman they think this was the first step toward doing that. Ashley's mother, Debra, showed up and held a sign in support of the teens' message. Having grown up during the Vietnam War, Debra said she had friends whose brothers were sent off to fight. She was sheltered by her parents from what was happening in the world at that time, she said. "I think that our kids are aware now, and that's very important," Hartman said. "History has a way of repeating itself, so it's good that we let our children see what's going on, so they have the opportunity to change things early. I think it's great. Teach your kids tolerance and empathy, and it pays off. They're our future."