Pico-Aliso ‘Others’

Re “Trying to Dodge the Cross-Fire,” Sept. 17: I have been assistant principal for the last two years at Utah Street School. We are completely enveloped by the Pico-Aliso housing project. I want to publicly thank the residents and the gang members surrounding our school for making our school a safe place, one that enables us to provide the best possible education to our students, 99% of them living in the projects.

We work with our students extensively in the area of gang prevention. We have several ongoing programs that explicitly target gang prevention, including GRIP, a program that includes all-day Saturday meetings for both parents and students. Your article termed two residents featured as “Others.” I think and deeply feel that we need to find some way to increase the number of these special individuals.

You entitled one part of your story “Bobby’s Guilt.” Bobby Guerrero was a sixth-grade student here. He has a beautiful grasp of the English language and enjoys being challenged. We had many talks about what he wants to do when he grows up. I respect him for regularly fighting the impulse to come under the spell of gang members. He is one of many students here that have the ability and the drive to further their education and become role models, as did the two young men you profiled.

My suggestion: If the Pico-Aliso Housing Authority, the parents of our community, Councilman Richard Alatorre’s office and the many agencies that serve this community could design a piece of clothing that would indicate non-involvement in any of our eight gangs, maybe we could increase the number of students who would be called Others.

GORDON D. NELSON

Los Angeles