Gus Frias

Regarding the gang-related killing of 11-year-old Alejandro Vargas as he stood on the front lawn of Ralph J. Bunche Middle School in Compton on April 23: As an educator who works daily with high-risk students in primary and secondary schools throughout Los Angeles County, I believe that a reassessment of the Compton Unified School District's anti-gang efforts should be undertaken. Article I, Section 28(c), of the California Constitution prescribes that "all students and school staff have the inalienable right to attend schools that are safe, secure and peaceful."

My involvement with gang violence began in high school, when my best friend was murdered. It was the culmination of many killings. The majority of my friends were murdered through drugs and gang-related crimes. So I decided to commit my life to preventing young kids from killing each other, and to doing whatever I can--as an individual and as a participant in society--to identify key minds and resources and collectively do whatever we can to make a difference.

Gang expert Gus Frias has been hired to create a program to deal with the gang problem in the city and join Councilman Mike Hernandez's staff on the issue. The City Council approved a $25,000, six-month contract with Frias, who is with the Los Angeles County Office of Education gang-intervention program. Hernandez said he hopes Frias' efforts will lead to a better understanding of the problem to help schools, businesses and families unite to eliminate it. "This is his issue," Hernandez said.

At age 17, when he lived in East Los Angeles' Maravilla housing project, Gus Frias lost his best friend in a gang ambush. Later, he recalls, an adult handed him a gun and demanded that he avenge the death. " 'If you want peace, you better wake up, because there is no such thing,' " Frias remembers being told. " 'If someone kills one of our own, the laws of the street demand pay-back.' " Many others might have committed the revenge killing, but Frias refused.

The vanity license plates on Gus Frias' 1988 black BMW read EAST LOS--a message to his students from the barrio that they can achieve success. The plates, which identify his beginnings in a violent East Los Angeles neighborhood, are framed by a holder which reads "USC Alumni." It is Frias' message that education is a way out, a message he now preaches in Orange County schools. Frias, 33, who went from the barrio to earn a master's at USC and to study law for 3 years at UC Berkeley, works for the Orange County Department of Education as manager of Operation Safe Schools.

At age 17, when he lived in East Los Angeles' Maravilla housing project, Gus Frias lost his best friend in a gang ambush. Later, he recalls, an adult handed him a gun and demanded that he avenge the death. " 'If you want peace, you better wake up, because there is no such thing,' " Frias remembers being told. " 'If someone kills one of our own, the laws of the street demand pay-back.' " Many others might have committed the revenge killing, but Frias refused.

The front cover of Barrio Warriors is the first hint that you won't find light reading in this new community-written magazine. It portrays eight young men, all staring unflinchingly into the camera. Some are carrying rifles, the others schoolbooks, and at the bottom, the words: "Weapons of Wisdom Over Weapons of Death."

Why do young men and women join groups of apparently aimless, often angry and violent neighborhood youths? Because for many, the penalty for not becoming a "homeboy" or "homegirl" can mean anything from ostracism to death. And it is not an alliance one simply walks away from when one has had enough. The bonds are often blood bonds and such disloyalty is often considered the greatest sin. The consequences of this passion can be tragic.

My involvement with gang violence began in high school, when my best friend was murdered. It was the culmination of many killings. The majority of my friends were murdered through drugs and gang-related crimes. So I decided to commit my life to preventing young kids from killing each other, and to doing whatever I can--as an individual and as a participant in society--to identify key minds and resources and collectively do whatever we can to make a difference.

The City Council recently named five people to the city's Anti-Gang Committee. The members will be Esther Arellano, Gus Frias, Joseph Lopez, Ed Macias and Irma Munoz. The panel will review the gang situation in South El Monte, as well as assess and coordinate anti-gang programs, said Asst. City Manager Steve Henley. Three of the members will serve two-year terms and two will have one-year terms, to be decided by lot. Future members of the committee will be appointed for two-year terms.

Gang expert Gus Frias has been hired to create a program to deal with the gang problem in the city and join Councilman Mike Hernandez's staff on the issue. The City Council approved a $25,000, six-month contract with Frias, who is with the Los Angeles County Office of Education gang-intervention program. Hernandez said he hopes Frias' efforts will lead to a better understanding of the problem to help schools, businesses and families unite to eliminate it. "This is his issue," Hernandez said.

Regarding the gang-related killing of 11-year-old Alejandro Vargas as he stood on the front lawn of Ralph J. Bunche Middle School in Compton on April 23: As an educator who works daily with high-risk students in primary and secondary schools throughout Los Angeles County, I believe that a reassessment of the Compton Unified School District's anti-gang efforts should be undertaken. Article I, Section 28(c), of the California Constitution prescribes that "all students and school staff have the inalienable right to attend schools that are safe, secure and peaceful."

The front cover of Barrio Warriors is the first hint that you won't find light reading in this new community-written magazine. It portrays eight young men, all staring unflinchingly into the camera. Some are carrying rifles, the others schoolbooks, and at the bottom, the words: "Weapons of Wisdom Over Weapons of Death."

Why do young men and women join groups of apparently aimless, often angry and violent neighborhood youths? Because for many, the penalty for not becoming a "homeboy" or "homegirl" can mean anything from ostracism to death. And it is not an alliance one simply walks away from when one has had enough. The bonds are often blood bonds and such disloyalty is often considered the greatest sin. The consequences of this passion can be tragic.

The vanity license plates on Gus Frias' 1988 black BMW read EAST LOS--a message to his students from the barrio that they can achieve success. The plates, which identify his beginnings in a violent East Los Angeles neighborhood, are framed by a holder which reads "USC Alumni." It is Frias' message that education is a way out, a message he now preaches in Orange County schools. Frias, 33, who went from the barrio to earn a master's at USC and to study law for 3 years at UC Berkeley, works for the Orange County Department of Education as manager of Operation Safe Schools.

Arlene Klasky's "Santo Bugito" is a racist television cartoon series that targets children and patently conditions them to degrade and dehumanize Hispanic Americans. ("A Bug's-Eye View in CBS' 'Santo Bugi" Calendar, Aug. 7). Klasky's well-manipulated use of Hispanic American actors and consultants shows a conscious disregard for the ethnic pride of Hispanic children. If she truly cared about addressing the reality of Hispanic children, she could have created a cartoon series showing little homeboys and homegirls wearing Ivy League University sweat shirts studying and exploring the world around them.

Gus Frias of the L.A. County Interagency Gang Task Force has the right idea about how to be effective in countering gang violence and gang membership ("Pull Together to Stop This Gang Epidemic," Commentary, Sept. 20). The Orange County Chiefs' & Sheriff's Assn. (OCC&SA), through its County-Wide Gang Strategy Steering Committee, has been working together against gangs for more than three years using the very strategies Frias suggests. Every city police chief, the sheriff, the district attorney, the chief probation officer, the county marshal and the FBI special agent in charge have been involved in this effort, along with gang investigators, school superintendents and principals, county Department of Education staff, community organizations and leaders from the religious and business communities.