Some were disappointed about the Coastal Commission vote regarding night-lights for football games. It’s surprising to me that there’s discontent. Mentioned was how these games bring together some people of Malibu-a good thing. However, it’s sad families have to wait for a football game to gather together. This decision may actually be beneficial to give some imagination for other activities that can bring families together.
Malibu isn’t a “normal” city… we’re living in areas of wildlife, ESHA’s-plus the benefit of being able to actually see the night sky. Humans encroached the Santa Monica Mountains for decades with no regard for wildlife or environment. Perhaps it is just ignorance, or just plain selfishness. We need to look at the whole picture. Kids having night football games shouldn’t be an issue when it comes to protecting the environment. Instead of being disgruntled parents, we can take this and turn it around-show the children of Malibu that we care about being able to see the night sky (there are astronomy groups that come all the way to Malibu to view the sky)!
Youth are our future. There’s more to life than football! How can kids understand this if the parents are ranting about how they won’t have lots of people at games? How exciting this can be for parents, and game-goers. There can be more communication (not less) by calling to promote the afternoon games, finding schools “just over the hill” that can accommodate night games (giving the kids different environments to meet new people and learn in), having other activities that bring families and neighborhoods together. Making football night lighting a major “thing” makes kids interested in other activities seem less important. It is difficult being a teenager-to “fit-in”. It’s a time when encouragement is really important. Think how it would feel to be one of the kids not that fond of football when all the attention is on this issue. Educating children about the importance of preservation is an ongoing issue, which we must continue so they can be the protectors in the future.
Alessandra DeClario