The Right Course on School Ethnic Strife : * Diverse Students Must Learn More About Each Other

Not long after school started this fall, Asian and Latino students from Westminster High School got into two fights not far from campus using knives, chains and sticks. The result: one minor stabbing, several other injuries and a meteoric rise in racial tension at the school, one of the most racially diverse in Orange County.

Questions are left in the wake of those incidents about whether Westminster is doing enough to promote tolerance. Last week, Principal Bonnie Maspero defended her school’s approach to racial diversity and talked publicly about the many problems Westminster faces. The 2,450-student school is unique in that it accommodates two minority groups of almost equal size. Once predominantly Anglo, the student body now is 28% Asian (mostly Vietnamese), 25% Latino, 5% mixed minority and the rest Anglo. The school also is coping with an unusually high dropout rate and language problems that must seem at times overwhelming. In addition, many of Westminster’s students are very poor. And, like many other schools in Orange County, Westminster has its share of students who are involved in gang activity.

Obviously, no school can control all the elements of poverty, gangs or other pervasive societal problems in a community. But where else but school can young people learn the skills they will need as adults to work at jobs and live in communities with people from many different backgrounds?

Helping people assimilate is a crucial task for the schools, especially in a region where demographics are changing as rapidly as in Orange County.

Maspero has been overseeing several programs on the campus aimed at increasing understanding of ethnic differences and defusing racial tension. Among them is a workshop conducted last spring by the U.S. Department of Justice to train student leaders--including so-called “alternative” leaders who don’t normally engage in student activities--to mediate racial conflicts among their peers. That program will be expanded this year.

There also are several other cultural diversity programs on campus as well as school and community events celebrating ethnic diversity. Following the recent altercations, the Red Cross was asked to conduct a seminar at the school on cultural diversity.

These and other campus programs all are steps in the right direction. However, more may be needed.

There must be a greater recognition on campus that racial differences are something to be dealt with vigorously by the administration. That may mean added staff training. It may mean developing programs to bring together students--lots of students--in activities where they can learn about each other’s lives. Administrators also should consult to a greater degree with other schools with similar problems to see how they have defused tensions.

In addition, Westminster High should more fully draw upon on the resources of the Orange County Human Relations Commission and the county Department of Education, which stand ready to help.

The two unfortunate incidents that occurred at Westminster involved only a few students from the school. But they were a signal that redoubled efforts must be made to address racial problems--not only at Westminster, but at schools throughout this changing county.

It is to be expected that some students may feel anxious about those different from themselves. It’s up to administrators and teachers, working with counselors and parents, to help demystify such cultural differences and accept others.