ABC Schools Weigh Dress Code to Halt Gang ‘Intimidation’

Alex Gloria will probably have to leave his five earrings at home when classes resume next month at Artesia High School.

His classmate Mike Mendez probably won’t be allowed to wear his gray cap with the visor turned backward.

Such jewelry and hats that do not have school logos would be banned under a proposed dress and grooming policy aimed at reducing gang activity at the 22,000-student ABC Unified School District. The school board is expected to approve the dress code at its Sept. 5 meeting.

Gloria, 17, editor of the school’s newspaper, called the code “stupid.” Mendez, also 17, said: “It’s unfair. I’m not a gang member. I wear my hat because I don’t like to comb my hair, and the brim is like this (turned backward) because it gets in my way.”

But school officials say the policy is necessary to protect students from gangs both on and off school grounds.

“There’s been very little overt (gang) action on campuses, but there can be lots of intimidation (of other students through clothing worn by gang members),” district Supt. Larry L. Lucas said.

“Wearing various (gang) garb is a way of advertising, and we don’t want them to use the schools to proselytize or advertise,” Lucas said.

Included in the ban are gloves, bandannas, shoestrings, wristbands and any accessories that can be considered gang-related.

Principals would determine whether students are violating the policy. Students who continually violate it could be suspended.

Incidents Increase

Last year, the Sheriff’s Department assigned a deputy to the district full-time because of an increase in gang-related incidents, including fights, on campus from 64 in the 1987-88 school year to 105 in 1988-89.

The Sheriff’s deputy, Don Vlieger, reported that from October through January, gang-related crimes in four of the cities served by the district--Cerritos, Bellflower, Artesia and Hawaiian Gardens--included three murders, four attempted murders, 61 narcotics violations, 12 robberies and five fights involving rival gangs. (The district also serves part of Lakewood.)

The proposed dress code was generally praised by the seven-member board at a recent meeting. “I think it is a great idea. I’m all for it,” board member Peggy Lee said.

However, board President Barbara Goul-Owens was more guarded. “I don’t really like the idea of a dress code, but we have a problem with gangs, and if this will help, we should try it,” Goul-Owens said. But she added: “Gangs can be real creative. They can get around the dress code.”

A parent, Prestell Askia, said she supports the dress code, but she urged officials to be sensitive in administering it and avoid stereotyping students from particular ethnic groups.

“My son is black. He wears certain colors (and wears) his cap backward, but I can assure you he is not a gang member,” said Askia, a candidate in the coming school board elections.

Mara Clisby, director of secondary education for the district, cited wide support for the code from school officials, parents and students. Clisby conceded that students’ “commitment is not as high as everybody else’s” but said “there is a strong feeling that they want to cooperate.”

The district has also made sure that it is on solid legal ground, Clisby said.

In a recent memo to administrators, the district’s attorney said: “It seems clear that such (dress code) policies will be upheld (by the courts)if they are rationally related to a legitimate purpose,” such as controlling gang activity.

It it approves the dress code, ABC will join a number of surrounding school districts that have restricted gang attire.

But some, such as the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School district, have established guidelines rather than a formal dress code. “Each school develops guidelines that meet their individual needs,” said Johnna Moore, the district’s director of secondary education.

“We deal with gang attire, including hair nets and bandannas, as well as plunging necklines and clothing containing obscene signs,” Moore said.

Before the start of each school year, Long Beach Unified School District officials send a newsletter warning students not to wear gang attire, said Richard Van Der Laan, director of public information.

“Any attire that may cause rival gangs to be openly hostile to each other or create an atmosphere of intimidation on campus is forbidden,” Van Der Laan said.

ITEMS THAT WOULD BE BANNED BY ABC SCHOOL DISTRICT

1. Hats, baseball-type caps that do not contain school logos.

2. Clothing or jewelry that suggests sexually related or obscene gestures, pictures or wording that promotes drugs or alcohol.

3. Clothing, jewelry or accessories, such as spiked collars and wristbands, that might pose a safety threat to students and others.

4. Clothing such as gloves, bandannas, shoestrings, wristbands, jewelry that is related to a group or gang.