It Ain't Easy Being Teen

If LAist was still in high school, we'd probably be faking sick, playing hooky or attempting to convince our parents to reconsider their aversion to home schooling this week. It is not a good week to be a teen in Los Angeles. In our best local newscaster hyperbole: No Place is Safe! We know that Jefferson High School and Santa Monica High School had huge brawls last week (Jefferson fighting continued on Monday) but we didn't know the streets weren't safe either. On Monday, Two Panorama City teens were shot on Terra Bella Street. One of them died.

What's going on? Is there just a lot of pent up aggression after our low-crime winter or is there something else at play? Are demographic changes really the root of the seemingly racial issues between students and, if so, why did that manifest itself at the same time on different campuses at completely different parts of the city?