Ventura High Begins Anti-Gang Effort : Education: Students can no longer leave the campus for lunch and a new dress code takes effect Wednesday. Many call the measures unnecessary.

Despite the protests of some students, Ventura High School officials on Monday began implementing a series of new security measures at the campus aimed at curbing gang activities.

At 7 a.m., a section of Poli Street that runs directly behind the school was closed off with wooden barricades to reduce the chance of drive-by shootings.

On campus, about 30 community volunteers joined two Ventura police officers in supervising students and reminding them about a new policy prohibiting them from leaving campus for lunch.

And school officials announced that a permanent new dress code policy banning all hats, headbands and other headgear would take effect Wednesday.

But many students shrugged off the new security measures, saying they were unnecessary.

“I could see it if this were Los Angeles,” said senior Michelle Long, 17. “But this is a joke compared to L. A.”

Classmate Kim Conley agreed.

“This is stupid,” said Kim, 17. “There are problems with gangs here, but it’s all been blown out of proportion.”

Hoping to rally student support for the new security measures, Ventura High officials held an anti-gang program in the school auditorium Monday morning.

El Teatro Jalapeno, a Fresno-based theater troupe made up of former gang members, was hired by the school’s parent-teacher association to perform a skit on the evils of gang life. Each of the seven actors involved delivered monologues detailing their personal experiences, from dropping out of school to losing friends to gang violence.

The program also included a plea from the family of Jesse Strobel, the Ventura High School student who was stabbed to death Jan. 29 in what police believe was a gang-related attack. The slaying occurred off campus.

John Strobel III, Jesse’s grandfather, urged students to obey the school’s new policies and to cooperate with authorities investigating his grandson’s death.

John Strobel IV, Jesse’s father, said after Monday’s program that he supports a proposal to hire security guards for each of the district’s three high schools. The school board will consider the recommendation by Supt. Joseph Spirito at its meeting tonight.

“We hope Jesse’s death wasn’t in vain,” Strobel said. “We hope that some real changes are coming about.”

Strobel said his family has organized a new volunteer group called S. O. S. Jesse to help promote anti-gang efforts in the city. He said the group is trying to organize a meeting at the Ventura County Fairgrounds for students and parents on the growing influence of gangs in the area.

Meanwhile, some Ventura High students Monday ignored the new policy prohibiting them from going off campus for lunch.

“By keeping the campus closed, they’re just going to create more problems. It’s not going to solve anything,” said one 14-year-old who left campus with two friends during the half-hour lunch period.

Other students attempting to leave campus were turned around by community volunteers who spent the day helping school officials supervise students.

“I think they’re going too far,” said Jessica Ferrell, 14, one of the students caught trying to leave school. “It’s not like we have drive-by shootings every day.”

Still, there were some who said they supported the new safety measures.

“I think it’s good,” said Amanda Wilmeth, 17. “I think it’s going to make a difference, and it’s going to help.”

Students are not the only ones being affected by the new safety measures.

Ador Lacanilao, owner of Chicken Lovers sandwich shop across the street from the campus, said he estimates that he will lose $50 to $80 a day because of the new closed-campus policy. Chicken Lovers is a favorite lunchtime hangout for students.

“It’s really going to hurt my business,” Lacanilao said. “But I guess it’s for the protection of the students. What can I say?”

Gail Sap, owner of a Mobil gas station and mini-mart near the school, said her business will also feel the pinch. She refused to serve a handful of students who dropped by her store during the lunch hour Monday.

“It’s going to hurt,” she said. “But we have to do it. It probably should have been done a long time ago.”

Spirito restated Monday that the weekday closure of Poli Street and elimination of off-campus lunch passes is being implemented on a 30-day trial basis. After that time, he said he will decide whether to recommend that both measures become permanent.