Allegations of Gang Activity Contradicted by Officials

HAWTHORNE â€”  A small group of parents who say that their children have been attacked by gangs contends that Hawthorne High School officials are ignoring a gang problem at the school.

But officials of the Centinela Valley Union High School District and the Hawthorne Police Department deny that Hawthorne High has a gang problem and say the incidents cited by the parents were “isolated.�

Marie Rubin, one of the eight parents who attended a recent school board meeting to complain about gangs, said her son was stabbed in the leg by gang members near the school in May. He was not seriously hurt.

Recognizing the Problem

“All we want is for them to recognize that there is a problem and do something about it,� Rubin said in an interview.

Another parent, Robert Romero, said his son, Robert Jr., was expelled from Hawthorne in May after “fighting back against eight gang members who attacked him.�

Parents say there have been several other incidents of gang-related violence at or near the school this year.

Romero said he believes Hawthorne began to experience problems when Lennox High School was completely closed in 1984 and its students were sent to Hawthorne High and Leuzinger High in Lawndale. This created tension between gang members from the different areas, he said.

District Supt. McKinley Nash disputed that view, although he said it has been widely held since Lennox students began attending Hawthorne. “It’s been very touchy,� Nash said.

“If there is a gang problem at Hawthorne High School I can’t see it,� Nash said.

He said students and parents have been told to report fights or other incidents to the school within 48 hours, “and these parents have never given me any sort of concrete evidence� of gang attacks.

Nash and other district officials said they believe that parents see a gang problem because their children are involved in fights.

“They have developed this into a gang problem in their own minds,� said district spokesman Dan Finnegan.

Some Gang Activity

Hawthorne Principal Jack Webber also disagreed that the high school is a haven for gang violence, although he acknowledged that some students belong to gangs.

“While there is gang activity around the area, I don’t feel we have problems with gangs,� Webber said.

Hawthorne Police Capt. Steve Port agreed. “So far there hasn’t been any evidence that gangs have staked out the school as their turf,� Port said.

Hawthorne High is patrolled by five security guards and has no more problems than any other high school, Nash and Webber said.

Rubin suggested to the school board that police officers patrol the campus and that a fence be put around the school to keep students on campus and exclude outsiders.

Both administrators and students attending the board meeting said a fence is unnecessary. “If you put up a fence it would probably encourage more kids to start problems,� said student Jesse Gutierrez.

Webber said he might consider starting a gang-awareness class at Hawthorne as Rubin suggested. Webber said the class could be similar to the one currently given to students at Larch Elementary School in Inglewood.