Students, police clash in Nanakuli
By Johnny Brannon and Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writers
Principals of all O'ahu's public high schools will meet today to review campus safety after a rash of fights last week and a fracas yesterday at Nanakuli High & Intermediate School in which police used pepper spray to disperse a large crowd of students.
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Police arrested eight students at Nanakuli on charges of disorderly conduct, and five of them, ages 14 to 18, were taken to Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where they were examined for unspecified minor injuries and released, said police Lt. Rodney Noguchi.
Police officers conferred on the campus of Nanakuli High & Intermediate School yesterday after a group of students refused to disperse.
Police were called yesterday by school security about 11:30 a.m. because a fight that started off-campus on Nanaika'ala Street had moved back to school.
Six officers responded to the call but more were dispatched when about 150 students gathered near the breezeway to the administration office to confront police, refusing repeated orders to disperse, Noguchi said.
"The students wouldn't back off," said Ned Campbell, the school's safety manager. "Some were right in their faces."
Maj. Michael Tamashiro, commander of the Kapolei-Wai'anae police patrol district, said some students were swearing, pushing and challenging officers, with some in the crowd shouting that they wanted attention from news media.
Police used pepper spray to disperse the group after asking the students four or five times to return to class.
Special duty police officers will remain at Nanakuli High today to help prevent any additional problems, officials said.
State schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto said she is very concerned about the series of fights at Radford, Waipahu, Wai'anae and Nanakuli high schools, but that it is not clear if there is a growing problem islandwide.
Still, school safety is a top concern, and the recent violence is being taken seriously, she said.
"That is our priority: the safety of the students when they come to school, for all the right reasons, including their right to an education that is in a safe environment," Hamamoto said.
A fight after a basketball game at Radford High School 10 days ago led to a melee in which two students were injured. A series of tense confrontations followed on campus last week, including some with racial overtones.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Five students were arrested at Waipahu High School last Thursday after an unrelated brawl in which one student allegedly assaulted a police officer.
Students Kaylene Manlapit, 14, left, Tita Kaneakua, 15, center, and Kehau Manlapit, 14, give their version of student disturbances yesterday at Nanakuli High & Intermediate School. Police arrested eight students, ages 14 to 18, at the school on charges of disorderly conduct after yesterday's fight.
And Wai'anae High School was locked down Friday afternoon after an altercation between three students grew to involve several more.
There were five fights last week at Nanakuli, starting Monday with an on-campus fight after lunch, according to school officials. Safety manager Campbell said a fight Friday that drew a crowd of more than 100 students capped a week that saw at least one fight every day on campus, including one on Wednesday involving girls. Nanakuli vice principal Flora Nash said there were also daily off-campus incidents last week.
Rodney Goo, Department of Education safety and security specialist and former head of the Honolulu Police Department's Gang Detail, said the Nanakuli incidents and last week's fights at Radford High, Waipahu High, Wai'anae High and Aliamanu Intermediate share some common threads.
"I don't think it's gang-related things," Goo said. "The common fact is there are two individuals getting into an argument or fight. From there, family members, siblings and friends start to participate in the fight."
The "I-got-your-back" attitude has fueled the problem, Nash said. "The majority of kids are just onlookers," she added.
Nash said six students were suspended in connection with Wednesday's campus fight. She had planned to meet with the students and their parents on Thursday but will reschedule the meeting because one parent had to work.
Nash said the meetings are important to clear the air because parents hear only one side of the story and stories tend to get embellished. "If one can't show up we don't do it," Nash said. "On the school level, when we do a powwow we want everyone there."
Hamamoto said it's important to learn from principals how widespread the problems are.
"We're asking the schools for feedback regarding the kinds of incidents that have occurred, so that we know the scope, the extent, and how to manage and put our hands around it," she said.
Hamamoto said it's hard to say whether the recent problems represent an unfortunate series of isolated incidents or a growing safety threat.
"Having been a high school principal, I know that in the course of events, these episodes happen," she said. "Whether it's becoming a trend or whether it's more, I would have to go and do my homework, and we are."
Disputes sometimes originate off-campus on weekends, but are played out at schools later because students involved know they can find their adversaries there, she said.
Hawai'i State Teachers Association president Roger Takabayashi said he believes the state's schools are generally safe. Violence at schools often draws more attention than similar incidents elsewhere, he said.
"The school is just the place that it tends to be publicized," Takabayashi said. "I don't think it's any more prevalent" than in society at large.
He said the union is concerned about safety, however.
"Any action the administration takes to protect the safety of teachers and students, we definitely welcome," Takabayashi said.
He said he did not think the problems at Radford indicate there is serious racial tension in Hawai'i's schools, or that the other fights point to a growing threat of violence.
"The kids get along in most cases," he said. "There might be a few that might have a problem. ... But the schools generally are safe. There's just a few individuals who blow things out of proportion. There's too many good things going on in our public schools, and hopefully this doesn't cast a shadow on that."
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084. Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8181.
