> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Students unite to cool tensions - URL: https://www.smdp.com/students-unite-to-cool-tensions/ - Published: 2005-04-30T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T06:50:54.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Principal is ‘hopeful’ for unity at Samohi* SAMOHI — In response to an outbreak of school violence, black and Latino students here have come up with an aggressive plan to unify. Student representatives from the Black Student Union and MEChA, a Latino student group, presented to school district administrators on Friday their “unity plan,” a 10-point plan that spells out both a short-and long-term approach to address the current wave of violence. What has been labeled as a conflict between Latinos and blacks is really an outcome of institutional racism — which is the fault of school officials, not students, said a group calling itself the “Unity Coalition.” The coalition — comprised of Santa Monica High School students, pastors and activists of both African American and Latino descent — held a press conference at the school Friday morning to unveil the plan. “We are here to put our best foot forward to show an example of how to work with each other, not against each other,” said Jules Bagneris, the meeting moderator and a parent. The students contend their accomplishments have been overlooked in the wake of recent violence on campus. That’s why they have banded together with the hope that the coalition can bring to light issues of racial inequality at the school. “The media and school officials have not revealed the root cause of the problem,” said Steven Fleming, a parent who has a child attending Samohi. “The real problem is not the students. The administration must also be held accountable. We need to ask why there is no representation of people of color in the administration while black and Latino students make up 42 percent of the student population.” The 10-point plan calls for new protocols that would address intercultural conflict with peer mediation so that students can help lead the effort. The plan also includes diversity in hiring and developing a new curriculum, and using a student-centered approach with school administrators in an effort to make education relevant for all students. William Smart, a local pastor and parent who has a child in the school system, said he is concerned that students’ commonalties aren’t addressed in the current curriculum. Subjects taught at the school, such as history, fail to provide relevant and meaningful content for students of color, he said. “It’s time they have a curriculum that they understand and see themselves in,” Smart said, adding the history of African Americans and Latinos needs to be taught at Samohi. While coalition members call for all parties to unite with each other, they place blame on school district officials who they say have ignored racial tensions at Samohi for years, and have done little to embrace diversity and promote intercultural relations among students. The coalition was formed in response to an April 15 incident at Samohi when at least six fights broke out on campus during the lunch hour, requiring a schoolwide lockdown in which three police departments were called in to secure the campus. Dozens of students were involved in the fights. They involved mostly Latino and Black students — although whites and Asians also participated in the melee. “There has been a systematic bias with an administration that has been insensitive to the needs of black and brown students,” Bagneris said. “This was simmering for some time and it was at a point of boiling over. The administration didn’t have a system in place and we need to place the blame where it should be.” Tensions had been brewing for months and the fights were supposed to occur before Christmas break, according to Samohi senior Nicole Barnes, a member of the Black Student Union. Some say tensions between the races have been a problem at Samohi for years. “The minute I got here, there was racial tension,” said Gina Clay, a senior who has attended Samohi for the past four years. “The problem has never been taken care of.” Ana Maria Jara, a local activist and parent, said she has attempted to work with school officials in the past to address racial tensions and issues of social inequality. She served as chair of a group called “Equity and Equality in Education” when the school district was creating its strategic plan, but the group’s recommendations were never accepted. Jara suggested on Friday that those recommendations be revisited, a master plan be created and that schools superintendent John Deasy should provide an annual report on its progress. “We all have a piece in this and there has been years and years of neglect,” she said. “We have made recommendations... and now we are putting that action into place.” Fleming suggested that the mindsets of school administrators must change in order to improve educational opportunities for all races. “I believe, in my experience, that the teachers and administration have basically failed our children, they are failing academically,” he said. “Instead of being proactive, they are being reactive. “Let’s plan something better and work together.” School board member Oscar de la Torre said issues of poverty remain the key problem to racial tension among youth. And it’s not just economic poverty, it’s also poverty in education, family life and government. “We want to end the divisiveness that has torn our community apart,” de la Torre said. “Our unity plan is designed to address the root cause of racial tensions in our schools. We are showing that Latinos and African Americans can work together to solve the problems that plague our community. “The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District must commit to the 10-point plan.” The plan will be presented to the SMMUSD school board on Thursday, May 5. School administrators weren’t present for the press conference, but Samohi Principal Ilene Straus earlier this week told the Daily Press that she has been spending a lot of time with students on campus since the fights broke out two weeks ago. “The cool thing is that African American and Latino youth leaders have come forward and want to work together,” she said. “In every crisis comes growth and this is a really good opportunity to working with kids and building community. “I’m hopeful.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/043005-01_01.jpg) (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 30, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/043005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)