Community Essay : A Frightening ‘Matter of Fact’ Attitude : The response of students to the Fairfax shooting represents the cynical view that such tragedies will not soon disappear.

Room 218 will never be the same . . . nor will the 37 students from Charles Schwartz’s English class . . . nor will I, a crisis management consultant with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The apparent accidental shooting at Fairfax High School on Jan. 21 that ended the life of Demetrius Rice is irreversible, as is the death of Michael Shean Ensley at Reseda High on Feb. 22.

As psychologists visited classrooms at Fairfax the day Rice was shot to brief students on the day’s events and to offer individual counseling, it became clear that a significant number had recently experienced the loss of a friend or loved one. What was more astounding, though, was that an equal number had experienced a violent loss.

Typically, most adolescents react to violent death with much expression and emotion. In this instance, however, the students who had witnessed the shooting remained relatively silent. While interviewing students, the overwhelming attitude was “matter of fact,” and responses were often made with such callous lack of emotion that it was frightening. Students were not in denial: They were accepting the reality that this was a terrible tragedy. Still, the cynicism about such tragedies will not soon disappear. That some students felt they were emotionally powerless to react in any given way was also apparent.

Although school psychologists wish they could reach troubled students before such tragedies occur, they realize that one cannot solve this daily crisis alone. These tragedies will go on as long as violence increases in the family and in society at large. As the family structure erodes and the community feels unable to cope with the dramatic demographic changes in Los Angeles, these problems will continue and the magnitude will intensify.

Angelenos have not fully adapted to the demographic turnaround of the past decade. Ten years ago, the student body of Fairfax High School was made up primarily of Anglos, but today it typifies the diversity within the district. More than 70% of all students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are now minority, representing about 80 languages. Despite this trend, multicultural sensitivity training is almost nonexistent in the schools.

These shootings will soon fade from public memory. But psychological crisis teams will continue to provide invaluable counseling services to school staffs.