School official wants TV to unveil gang signs

Palm Beach Post - Palm Beach,FL,USA

Nirvi Shah
Thursday, July 22, 2004

Driving around her neighborhood recently, school board member Debra Robinson said, her 11-year-old son could identify the bright, crisp graffiti on some buildings as gang symbols.

After the death last week of 14-year-old Ricardo Andres, killed over what police believe is gang rivalry, Robinson proposed Wednesday regularly airing the colors and symbols that identify gangs on the school district's television station, Channel 19. County Commissioner Jeff Koons this week offered the county's station as another outlet for the exposure, she said.

"What happens in the community frequently spills over into the schools," Robinson said, but some parents are unaware of their children's involvement. "The easiest thing to do is to put the information out there."

Robinson said some children are sucked into gang membership out of fear. The school district also should make sure students know they have resources for dealing with that pressure.

"Not all children in gangs are future criminals," she said.

Robinson said she escaped joining a gang in junior high by tutoring members of many different gangs, gaining the acceptance of them all. "I know certain children haven't found a way to negotiate a situation that they're in."

School board members want to meet with a countywide task force on gangs, as well as other groups.

Another idea: Recruit the graffiti artists for some of the district's arts programs, Superintendent Art Johnson said.

Speaking of gang marking he had seen, he said, "They are graffiti, but they are talented."