GLENDALE – The Armenian National Committees of America – Glendale Chapter and Western Region have extended their resources and services to the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools to help relieve circumstances that may have contributed to the fight between dozens of students at Hoover High School a week earlier.
The ANCA – Glendale and Western Region representatives met with the School Board President Mr. Greg Krikorian and the Superintendent of Schools Dr. Winfred B. Roberson & GTA president Taline Arsenian on Wednesday, October 10 to learn more about the incident and about what actions were being taken by the School District to ensure the safety of the students, prevent the reoccurrence of violence, and offer the support of the organization, the Glendale Youth Center and affiliated organizations.
The ANCA – Glendale and Western Region are very concerned that tensions between several groups may have contributed to the violence.
“Our organization is taking the initiative to reach out to parents, students, school officials, city officials, and Glendale based organizations to work together on having healthy relations between all of our City’s residents,” we will continue monitoring the situation and will be in constant contact with all officials to make sure the situation will be handled diligently, stated ANCA – Glendale Co-Chair Ronnie Gharibian.
“The ANCA – Glendale and affiliated organization representatives will continue meeting with parents, students, school officials, other community organizations, as well as City officials to implement actions that contribute to better relations between the City’s diverse ethnic population,” added the advocacy organization’s Co-Chair Lucy Petrosian.
The ANCA – Western Region has also contacted some local television news programs to express its concerns over the coverage by some reporters and suggest actions to increase awareness and improve unbiased news reporting.
According to Glendale’s school officials, approximately 38% of the students are of Armenian descent, 23% are Hispanic, 13% are Asian, 6% are Filipino, 2% are African American, American Indian, Pacific Islander and/or decline to state students. The remaining 18% of the students identify themselves as Caucasian or mixed ethnic descent.