Cory went to SEED - an alternative school for freaks and geeks. Most kids who attend those schools are generally “alt” in attitude and appearance. College Park is a higher end, albeit small, mall. So they very obviously didn’t want kids from SEED hanging out there - rabble rousers that they are. I, on the other hand, attended North Toronto and was as prep as prep could be. I never got so much as a second glance in malls - or if I did it was one of admiration and jealousy for being so incredibly handsome, well-dressed, and charming. 
I’m a firm believer in ‘their house, their rules’ when it comes to business. There are certainly people I don’t want coming into my place of business and scaring off paying customers. I reserve the right to choose whom I do business with. Don’t like it? Take your business someplace else. However, malls are a bit of a sticky situation legally speaking. While they are private property, they’re also quasi-public spaces. And in quasi-public spaces people - at least in the US - have First Amendment rights. So in this case they could very possibly sue the mall and win. But…and there’s always a but, isn’t there? Since 9/11 under the Patriot Act the First Amendment has been somewhat curtailed - wearing masks in public as one example. And then there are whatever state laws are in place about public safety and security and it all becomes pretty messy.
The fact that the mall manager didn’t know how to deal with this speaks volumes of the incompetence of the mall’s owners. Now they have a ton of negative publicity on their hands. What’s worse they would have none, or could have easily turned this into free, positive PR. Now a savy business owner would see the opportunity here and invite these people to come to their mall, thereby demonstrating to the public they’re fun and friendly. And it would give the kids and parents a laugh to look at the harmless weirdos as they shop. So this isn’t so much a tale about corporate malfeasance as it is about corporate stupidity. Complain about it all you like, but money talks and BS walks. Nothing speaks to a corporation like taking your consumer dollars somewhere else.
