A FORUM FOR COMMUNITY ISSUES : Youth / OPINION : North Hollywood High: Reaching ‘A Boiling Point’

ROMY GASTELUM, Senior, 17

On one hand I guess I was sort of surprised at what took place on Monday. But then again, when you start to look closer at the situation, you can understand the reasons. It’s funny, North Hollywood is known for the different races that come to this school. But it’s probably the most segregated as well. The blacks hang with the blacks, the Latinos hang with the Latinos, the whites hang with the whites, and so on and so on. We may look like we’re one happy family, but it’s not the case. In sports, the blacks play basketball with only the blacks. The Latinos only play soccer with other Latinos. When we listen to music, the blacks hate the music Latinos listen to and the Latinos hate hip-hop. After a while, this all builds up like a pressure cooker. There is a lack of communication between the students. The school must attempt to let us as students, participate with each other so that we can open these lines of communication.