What Can We Do About Hate Crime?

Although the number of serious crimes dropped 10.2% in Los Angeles last year, hate crimes reported at Los Angeles county schools jumped 15%, according to a recent county Commission on Human Relations report.

The reported hate crimes--more than half racially motivated and ranging from vandalism to assault with a deadly weapon--have increased despite state laws requiring schools to address racial tensions on campus.

GERALD KLEINMAN

Principal, Birmingham High School, Van Nuys

I don’t see a lot of hate crimes at this school. That’s not to say we don’t have them, though. What I do see is antagonism toward our gay students by non-gays. I also see some concern between white supremacists, who aren’t very vocal here, and our African American students, who notice them and are bothered by them. Sometimes tempers flare.

We have a program here called Human Efforts Aimed at Relating Together, or HEART, which brings gang members together to go over the standards of behavior at the school. We try to help them learn how to mediate their controversies in a peaceful manner. We also seek out the natural leaders of gangs on campus and try to get them away from the gang influence and into extracurricular school activities.

Starting in September, we’re going to institute the school district’s 20-week program that helps students learn conflict resolution. They’ll be taught how to handle problems peacefully, not violently.

One of our Birmingham teachers, Andrea Barer, has created a program called Teach Peace. When instituted school-wide, it will teach the students about consequences for their actions, and it reinforces good character values.

AARON LEVINSON

Director, Valley office, Anti-Defamation League

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Many people are concerned about hate crimes because those crimes don’t affect just the individuals involved, they affect the whole community. Perhaps we’ve seen a rise in hate crimes on school campuses because there is a great deal of misunderstanding among minorities, and the tensions build up. There is not a lot of trust built up about new immigrants who come here.

What I recommend is that schools incorporate diversity training programs into their lesson plans. There are various programs that train administrators and teachers and the students themselves about the benefits of a diverse society. There are role-playing exercises and history lessons, education about various cultures, among other programs that can be brought to the schools. The ADL and others have specialists who can assist schools with these programs.

EMILY KAGAN

Van Nuys High School senior

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At my school there isn’t, to my knowledge, a large degree of racism. I don’t see different ethnic groups fighting. Sometimes I hear jokes made about a certain cultural or religious group, but the kids within those groups also do the joking about themselves.

I think that it would be good to introduce a mandatory class that would explore different races and cultures, to help alleviate racial and ethnic tensions. Most of our schools are ethnically diverse, so a class that would deal with comparative religions and cultures would be helpful. We need to learn why different ethnic groups immigrated here. Then we could get an appreciation for what they’re doing here now.

Just as some people don’t know about the Holocaust, likewise others believe that Hispanics have come across the border to be our housekeepers or gardeners. That’s the same as people believing that anger in the black community is exactly the same anger as expressed by Louis Farrakhan. I’d like to see these stereotypes and myths dispelled by a mandatory high school class that teaches us about immigrant groups, using a historical perspective.

I also think that field trips to the Museum of Tolerance would be helpful. The key is education. Many kids rally around hate groups because they need a place to fit in. Kids will go to many lengths to belong to a group. They need an attitude adjustment.