Leaders urge youths to use good judgment

AIKEN --- Nearly 100 Aiken youths were challenged to make wise choices in life during a Wednesday night youth forum at the O'Dell Weeks Center.

Chief Pete Frommer of Aiken Public Safety said the goal of the forum was to open communication with area youths and to give them a voice.

University of South Carolina Aiken basketball player Chris Commons was the night's guest speaker and urged youths to carry themselves to a higher standard.

"Really think about the choices and decisions you make," Mr. Commons said.

Mr. Commons talked about how a few years ago he had started hanging out with the wrong crowd, and how it led him to an eight-month stay in a federal prison on armed robbery charges.

He once had a full scholarship to the University of Findlay, a private Division II school in Findlay, Ohio, and he was set to graduate early with a double major. But in the summer of 2005, Mr. Commons said he went home to Toledo, Ohio, and fell in with the wrong crowd.

"I was partying, having a good time," he said.

But the good time was over when he ended up pleading no contest to a pair of robberies that he says three others committed using his sport utility vehicle.

He said he had loaned the vehicle out without knowing what it would be used for, and he was arrested along with the other three.

Under a first-time offender status, he was released after eight months for good behavior.

When Mr. Commons got out of prison, he learned his scholarship had been revoked. Despite his skill on the court, he said, no college wanted him.

Then he got a second chance with a call from the coach at USC Aiken.

"Y'all face the same decisions I did," Mr. Commons told the group Wednesday night. "And making bad choices can become a habit."

Reach Michelle Guffey at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or michelle.guffey@augustachronicle.com.