A small step to stop gangs
San Benito High School this week abruptly announced that its
dress code would become more stringent as the result of concerns
about gang activity on campus. In light of complaints from parents
and others who objected to having to buy new clothes for their
students without warning, the school moderated a bit.
A small step to stop gangs
San Benito High School this week abruptly announced that its dress code would become more stringent as the result of concerns about gang activity on campus. In light of complaints from parents and others who objected to having to buy new clothes for their students without warning, the school moderated a bit.
Congratulations to San Benito High on two counts: listening to the school community and taking an active role in stemming on-campus gang activity.
It’s hard for students to look toward their futures when a criminal presence has them worried about their backs, but we have to believe that addressing clothing issues is little more than a Band-Aid applied to a symptom rather than a systemic cure to a troubling societal malaise.
Criminal gangs have inserted themselves into the fabric of local life, as the recent drive-by shooting of a young man in a quiet, upper-middle class neighborhood surrounding an elementary school illustrates.
And if we are to hope for a solution, we must embrace the notion that the cure is not the sole responsibility of San Benito or any other school.
It’s our problem. Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller and other law enforcement officials believe a multi-faceted approach combining education, intervention and suppression is necessary. It’s a methodology that ultimately needs to involve all of us.
A recent news account of the gang-related murder in another paper brought more than 150 reader comments, the overwhelming majority of them expressing frustration and a desperate desire to purge San Benito County of criminal gangs.
There are no easy answers, but the high school administration took a small step this week. Before lambasting the school staff for acting decisively, it’s best to ask what steps you’ve taken to resolve the gang problem lately.
