Officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District insist that the fights that broke out during the Wednesday morning snack break at Carson Senior High School had nothing to do with racial tensions. In fact, according to Los Angeles School Police Chief Steven Zipperman, the Carson "campus has no current racial issues."
The LAUSD issued a statement Wednesday night regarding the incident, which found approximately 30 to 40 students engaged in three fights on the school's quad. Preliminary reports suggested the fights were between black and Latino students, however a local publication noted a group of Samoan students were involved as well.
That's not news to Zipperman--it's gossip: "Descriptions of these fights as racially-motivated have not been substantiated," he's quoted as saying in the LAUSD statement on the matter.
Carson High Principal Windy Warren confirmed that as a result of the fights, "seven students were arrested or suspended; eight students were injured with four transported to a hospital and four treated by the school nurse and released." Warren adds that the campus has been peaceful this school year, and that students leaders have also attested race was not a motivating factor in the fights.
The LAUSD says the Los Angeles School Police are continuing their investigation to determine the cause of the fights on the "racially and ethnically-diverse campus."
In the 2010-2011 school year, Carson had 3298 students, whose racial backgrounds broke down as follows, according to the LAUSD:
0.7% American Indian/Alaska Native; 2.5% Asian; 22.0% Filipino; 4.8% Pacific Islander; 17.5% Black; 49.4% Hispanic; 3.2% White.
