By Staff Writer, Royze Adolfo           

From gang-like activities to locker thefts and vandalism, from verbal intimidation to animosity in the hallways, Hoover harbors victims.

            Violence has been a serious problem in public schools for many decades, which is why the California Department of Education is issuing a School Safety Consolidated Competitive Grant.

The California Department of Education is awarding grants to six Los Angeles County schools where students “feel unsafe” and want to “be heard.”  Hoover is a Los Angeles County candidate that can receive up to $489,635 according to the California Dept. of Education allowing the school to enhance pre-existing violence prevention programs.  

            In May of 2000 senior Raul Aguirre was murdered outside of school.

In January of 2005, police reinforcement was put into action as the rowdiness of a group of students culminated in a school-wide violence concern. 

Since these incidents, police officers and administrators have persisted in patrolling the halls while classes are in session. They carefully monitor the possible existence of violence and put a stop to it before it escalates.

Administrators also periodically conduct metal detector checks to make sure students are not carrying weapons or harmful objects that may be a distraction to the rest of the student populace.

 Moreover, when asked about the possible enhancement of Hoover’s violence prevention program, Samantha Rahal (’08) suggested that the school further invest in programs focused on “getting students to understand each” other versus gang intervention programs.

            “Violence is not restricted to solely matters concerning physical assault,” Raymond Hajduk (‘08) said.

Verbal abuse, through rumors and blatant and confrontational acts, also induce reactions and stem animosity and resentment. Therefore, not only are the Violence Prevention Grants going to fund the upgrading of violence prevention facilities such as cameras, gates, and metal detectors, they can also be used to allocate funds to programs concerned with conflict resolution. Its premise revolves around the idea of “resolv[ing] disputes without resorting to violence,” as claimed by the California Department of Education.

            “If you go looking for a fight, then you’re going to get it. If you don’t care, you won’t [be involved in one],” Nazeli Khodabakhsh (’09) said.

Hoover currently has Guidance and World History teacher Ara Mgrdichian and Alex Garcia, former leader of Latino Student Initiative, as the directors of the Violence Prevention Grant at Hoover. They give personal counseling to students in the Student Resource Center.

 However, as claimed by Strategies to Keep Schools Safe by Alexander Volokh and Lisa Snell, the evidence of effectiveness of these programs is “either sparse or mixed” and that there is no “one-size-fits-all” program. Each school must be regimented differently due to varying violence levels due to cultural backgrounds, neighborhoods, and population demographics.

Hajduk states that Hoover does not harbor a big of a problem with regards to violence, in fact, “it is [simply] normal for high school students to have their dramatic [instances].”