Two teens, ages 16 and 17, were shot outside Grant High. A 19-year-old was wounded in a drive-by shooting outside Sylmar High. A 17-year-old student was killed in a gang shooting a block from Monroe High School. A 16-year-old student at Franklin High School was shot to death. All these incidences occurred just during the 2006-07 school year.

The LAPD reported 293 violent incidents near high schools in 2006, many of which were linked to gang violence. There are an estimated 40,000 gang members in L.A., and their actions gravely impact innocent students.

In 2003, my friend was waiting at a bus stop at Taft High with a group of students when a car drove by and unleashed a spray of bullets into the crowd. They aimed at a gang member, but my friend was hit. He is now paralyzed. He was only 15.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has instituted an “anti-gang plan” in addition to the programs already in place. Two years ago, a “safe school zone” program was established which increases penalties to crimes committed within 1,100 feet of schools. But these measures are not the solution.

City and LAUSD officials cannot fix a problem that we start. When teens get involved in gangs, teens become targets. Sadly, the bullets often find the innocent students. The guilt of these injuries lies on our shoulders. We have brought a gang war into schools, and we are responsible for the students caught in the crossfire.

Why do we bring this upon ourselves? Why are students joining gangs, bringing more harm on us all? Life is difficult enough already, and we are all experiencing it. I found a girl crying in the bathroom one day and asked her what was wrong. When she shook her head, I asked, “Boy trouble? School trouble? Friend trouble? Family trouble?” She smiled sadly. It was boy trouble.

It is surprising how much you can learn in the school bathroom. Thinking about this girl, I realized how easily I could relate to her troubles. For the most part, we are all subject to the same problems during the same difficult high school years. We do not need the added problem of violence. If all of us would just stay out of gangs and other violence, at least our high schools would be safe.