Group Seeks an End to School’s Racial Strife : Education: Harmony Coalition solicits student pledges to end conflict between Latinos and Armenians at Grant High.

Like every other day, the Armenian students spent their lunch period under the four shade trees on one side of Grant High School’s quad; the Latino students gathered on the opposite side. But in the middle, a new group seized its territory Wednesday, taking students and even some teachers by surprise.

Calling itself the Harmony Coalition, the dozen or so student council leaders and volunteers urged all Grant teen-agers to sign pledges promising peace on campus. They set up tables, blew up balloons and beckoned classmates, shaking hands and offering pens for signatures.

“We’re trying to get the kids to understand that schools should be safe and that violence against peers will not be tolerated,” said Arthur Stevens, a financial services salesman who founded the group, which promotes safety on campuses. “There were concerns at Grant . . . and we thought that maybe everyone could come together and heal some of those wounds.”

One month ago, two Armenian students were stabbed and a Latino boy injured in a drive-by shooting at about the same time in what administrators and students described as escalating racial conflicts. All three students have recovered and returned to school.

The violent outbreak had a sobering effect on Grant students, who said that tensions have been considerably reduced since then.

“People want to get along now--people are tired of violence,” said Eric Mejia, a 17-year-old senior who was among the first students to sign a peace pledge. “Everything is calm now.”

The Harmony Coalition has spent most of its time at schools were violence has occurred, most recently at Hollywood High School, where a student was fatally shot after school in September. Although the Grant incidents took place just off campus, fights had broken out earlier inside the school gates.

“We’ve never gotten along together in the schools,” said Harry Khorkhoryan, a 16-year-old junior, referring to Latino and Armenian students. “I’ve never known why. But it should change.”

About 400 students signed pledges--a fraction of the 3,000-student body at Grant--but administrators and student leaders said they were still pleased with the event. “People seemed to care about this,” said Alan Stein, the student council president. “We hope it’s the first step of many in bringing the Grant family together.”

The school also launched a “Harmony Coalition Club” to continue the push for peaceful coexistence between groups. Students said the tension between Armenians and Latinos has been a continual problem erupting at least once during the school year into a fight.

On Wednesday, however, the focus was peace. “Look, it’s like nothing ever happened,” said Cecilia Salvador, a 17-year-old senior. “Everything is pretty low-key right now.”

Pinning yellow ribbons to their shirts to symbolize their dedication to keeping violence off campus, the students signed the pledges to “extend my hand in peace and friendship to my fellow human being.”

Some students signed but admitted later they weren’t really aware of the significance. “Why did I sign?” senior Edzita Manoukian, 17, said, giggling. “Because my friends were signing them.”