Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Racial Tensions Ease at Canyon High Campus : Tolerance: Classroom talks help restore calm after recent fights between minorities and white supremacists.

Racial tensions at Canyon High School appeared to cool Thursday as teachers discussed tolerance in classes and students hung a large anti-racism poster outdoors that collected hundreds of supportive signatures.

Students at the Canyon Country school had been involved in several racially motivated fights during the past week and sheriff’s deputies were deployed in force Wednesday to keep a large-scale brawl from occurring. Thomas Gibson, school resource deputy for the area, said a few extra deputies patrolled the school Thursday but no problems were expected.

“I think a majority of the students at the school, no matter what race they are, want to see this thing end,” Gibson said.

Two off-campus fights during the weekend--one between a white student and a Latino student, the other between a white student and a black student--apparently ignited the tensions, Gibson said. About 20 to 30 students were involved in two fights that were apparently instigated near the school during lunch Tuesday by a white supremacist group member who was not a student at the school.

The group, apparently consisting of skinheads or other white supremacy advocates, battled with another group made up of white, African American and Latino students. No serious injuries were reported, but several cars were vandalized.

Teachers spent the first period of class Thursday discussing the incidents and the “retribution mentality” that some students seemed to have, Principal Mike Allmandinger said. In addition, a social studies class made a large poster denouncing racism and hung it from the school’s outdoor theater, inviting students who opposed racism to sign the poster.

“It’s got a lot of signatures,” Allmandinger said. “A lot of teachers are taking their students by it.”

He said teachers may use the incident as a “real-life social studies” project in the near future, but no other large-scale programs are planned.

For the past two years, ninth-grade students have been participating in the “World of Difference” program, which focuses on racial tolerance, Allmandinger said.

About 75% of Canyon High students are white, 20% are Latino and 2% are African American, with various ethnic groups making up the remainder, he said. The school had avoided serious racial incidents during the school year until this past week, but school officials acknowledge a small number of students do exhibit a “white power” mentality.

Canyon Country is one of the most diverse sections of the Santa Clarita Valley in both economic and ethnic makeup, Gibson said. The area has traditionally been predominantly white, he said, but more minorities are moving to the community, apparently inflaming the passions of a small number of white supremacists who live there.

“I don’t know what these white people are thinking or feeling, but they seem to be taking an exception to it,” he said. “They are a small minority of people who are very vocal--and physical at times.”