Violence in High School Solves Nothing

Friday, Oct. 23, was North Hollywood High’s homecoming game. It should have been an auspicious occasion for everyone in the school, but it proved to be one of the gloomiest days. It was once more a day when your skin color became more important than the inner qualities you possess.

For the first time in North Hollywood High history, a Latino king and queen were elected. This should not have come as a surprise, since 69% of the school’s population is Latino.

After the homecoming dance, a group of blacks beat Herman Rojas, the homecoming king, resulting in four lost teeth. The assailants apparently were from another school, yet others responded by taking their frustrations out on the black population at North Hollywood High.

Many blame Latinos for the incident, saying that the homecoming king and an unidentified Latino male were voicing profanities at the group of black men. Either way, this incident proves to be a question of racial misunderstanding, mistrust and outright ignorance.

If we bothered learning about what makes each other tick, rather than hiding behind a facade of racial nationalism, we could be on the road to working with and tolerating each other.

It would be wrong to say that the fight on the southeast corner of Magnolia and Colfax was the sole igniter of the incident at the school. The Cinco de Mayo celebration last semester was a sore point for Latinos. At that time, a predominantly Anglo student council voted against having a mariachi band at the school. Even though Latinos were outraged, a confrontation was avoided.

Many also believe that the type of music played at the homecoming dance was a problem when it became techno vs. hip-hop. These are all bad reasons to take a violent approach to a situation. Rioting is just plain absurd.

I know of at least one teacher who has brought up the question of having multicultural studies classes required for high school graduation from the Los Angeles Unified School District. I think that’s an excellent suggestion.

Let us all reflect upon the actions of the past days and think about where we are going as a race--the human race. Let us try to better ourselves through the knowledge of the mind, because it is the only way that we must truly learn about ourselves.

Until we know ourselves, we’re all ignorant. We all know that ignorance breeds violence. Let us not think about the actions of race but about people. We all love, hurt, and cry, so we should work together for a more perfect coalition of man.