When Mayor Bob Duffy formed the Youth Advisory Council, he says he wasn't creating an ice-cream social for teens. He was looking for their honest feedback on everything from budgets to policies, he says. And that's what he got.

As a follow up to their "Voice of the Youth Forum" last June, Advisory Council members have presented the mayor with a list of their concerns. What Duffy received was a frank and troubling assessment of teen life in Rochester: apathetic teachers, overly aggressive policing, and a lack of guidance. And, the teens say, some initiatives that directly impact them, such as the curfew and Zero Tolerance, need their input to be more effective.

Shanterra Randle works for the Council. She says that she understands the premise of Zero Tolerance, but that she is disturbed by the way it tends to adversely affect black youth, especially males.

"We don't have a problem being approached by police," Randle says. "It's the way police approach us."

Officers came up to a group of teens waiting for a bus, she says, and threw one young man to the ground as the rest of the teens watched. Police and Duffy couldn't be reached for comment on the alleged incident, but Randle's perception of Zero Tolerance is shared by many in the African-American community.

"That destroys trust and confidence," she says. "We don't see them messing with the white kids. A lot of officers are not from the city and they fear us, so that's how they handle it."

Agapè Towns doesn't expect Duffy to accept every recommendation, but he's encouraged by the process.

"You can't solve problems that involve teens without involving teens," he says. "He needs our input. We know things and see things he doesn't."

The Mayor's Youth Advisory Council started out as a promise that Duffy made while running for office, says Jennifer Banister, with the advocacy group Teen Empowerment. Banister says that Duffy wants the Advisory Council, a pilot program, to become permanent.