ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES

MAY 7---A national teleconference will air Tuesday, May 18 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to examine the rising amount of violence in the United States.

The conference particularly will address violence with guns by children against children in our public schools -- a problem spreading from urban communities to small-town, rural mid-America.

The teleconference will provide insight on ways to identify troubled kids in our communities and identify steps and show examples of current programs in schools, churches, communities and families that point the way for solutions.

The targeted audience for the teleconference is intergenerational members of the community, including parents, grandparents, counselors, Girl Scout and Boy Scout leaders, youth leaders, schoolteachers and administrators, ministers and faith community teachers.

An overview of violence in society and how it impacts our daily lives will be examined.  It will focus on messages being delivered to kids about ways to deal with conflict and what positive role gun control might play. Young people affected by school shootings will share comments as will panelists. Comments from the listening audience also will be heard via phone hookup.

Four outstanding panelists will be in the studio to discuss and address issues and answer viewers' questions.  Panelists include Arthur L. Cribbs, executive director, office of communications, United Church of Christ; Sarah Wilke, director of Wesley-Rankin Community Center and their Compadres program, Dallas; Dr. Pamela Riley, executive director, Center for the Prevention of School Violence, Raleigh, N.C.;and Jerel A. Eaglin, director of youth services, National Crime Prevention Council, Washington, D.C.

In addition to the in-studio panel, the program will include pre-recorded segments, and question and answer interaction throughout the 90-minute teleconference with community viewing sites nationwide.

The audio portion of the teleconference will be webcast in real time to those with RealPlayer software.

Anyone interested in viewing the teleconference should contact your county Extension office for more details.