Concerned about the amount of gang- and race-related violence involving Latino and African-American students as they walk to and from school, about 30 community figures assembled yesterday at Trenton Central High School to discuss what to do about it.
Emotions ran high as the people at the meeting — most of them affiliated with religious, civic or law enforcement organizations — discussed the two biggest reasons that brought them there: the welfare of the children and the welfare of the community.

“The school is a microcosm of the streets,” Trenton Central High School principal Marc Maurice said. “Our No. 1 duty is ensuring the safety of the children.”
Maurice said he’d hoped a group discussion could help stimulate resolutions to the problem throughout the community.

Opinions on solutions varied widely. One popular suggestion was to form more “safe passages” — routes from the school into neighborhoods that are known to be monitored by community volunteers and undercover police. While several volunteers already monitor students as they’re dismissed from school and make their watchful presence known to those who might start fights, they said their vigilance can go only so far.

Maurice said that many of the instigators come from the city’s Wilbur section, and a number of altercations take place at nearby Columbus Park. Still, allocating police officers to such routes would be difficult considering that the department has been thinned following last year’s layoffs, including the layoff of the officer who had been assigned to TCHS, Maurice said. Violence rose markedly after that officer left, Maurice said, adding that he is trying to reinstate her position at the school.

Other suggestions included referring students who make trouble to special school counselors, making sure the children know that committing violence is committing a crime, encouraging students to speak up about acts of violence they witness, and implementing courses about the culture of both ethnic groups, a suggestion that school board member Jason Redd said he would take back to board president Toby Sanders.

Everyone agreed on the importance of getting parents involved and encouraging them to be a bigger presence in their children’s lives.

The group will meet again at 11 a.m. Feb. 4 at Cristo Rey Christ Church in Trenton to continue their discussion.