Throwing thousands of dollars at problems involving young Bermudians will not solve them, a youth leader said yesterday.

But if adults were "to take young people into their businesses, reach out a hand and make a young friend'', then young people -- and Bermuda -- would benefit, the president of the Bermuda College's student government said.

Kenneth Caesar, 20, also told Hamilton Lions Club the greatest struggle for young people was to find community guidance and role models.

"...We are still experiencing problems with the youth population; problems like violence, pregnancy and a lack of education,'' he said.

"Often it is the young people who get blamed for everything from stealing bikes to playing loud music in their parents' homes. Why is that? I think it is because of a lack of youth empowerment.'' And he said young people also lacked motivation and encouragement from adults.

"Motivation is having confidence in young people to do things that are in their best interest, by believing in them and working with them,'' he said.

"Encouragement is the key. It is not throwing thousands of dollars at them and thinking they will be happy. This will not solve the problem.'' Mr. Caesar suggested companies could help to motivate young people by employing students from the College's Hotel and Business faculty.

And he singled out Brian Hall, the chairman of the Board of Governors at the Bermuda College, for developing a programme which supported students pursuing Bachelors degrees in insurance.

He also expressed his gratitude for being given the opportunity to speak publicly at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club luncheon.

"Often in Bermuda when youth issues come up, adults are always up front speaking for the young people when we as young people are quite capable of speaking for ourselves,'' he said.

Earlier, Mr. Caesar explained the role of the Student Government and the challenges he faced as president.

"The Student Government at Bermuda College is an association in which students should be able to not only get their voices heard, but also ensure they receive a quality education.'' He noted that as the "first truly elected student government at Bermuda College'' there was a lot of foundation work which had to be done.

"Students come to my office with budgetary concerns, social concerns, academic concerns, and I must provide solutions, conduct meetings and try to maintain good grades,'' he said.

"But probably the most valuable thing is that the college administration makes the students feel (they are) equal participants in the development of the college and its programmes.'' Mr. Caesar then called for leadership development programmes to be introduced to prepare young people for the future.

"For some, being a leader is a natural ability,'' he said. "And for others it has to be developed.'' The student president also defended the Bermuda College's decision last year to lower the grade point average admission standard from 2.0 to 1.5.

He said the new entry level simply allowed more students to enrol in the College and was introduced in conjunction with a higher graduation standard, enabling more young people to begin college educations.

He also appealed to students and parents to look at the Bermuda College as the first choice in higher education.

NEED FOR MOTIVATION -- Bermuda College Student Government resident Kenneth Caesar Graphic file name: KENCAE