CARSON GRAHAM vice-principal Len Slade (right) talks to a group of students on their way home from school on Wedn

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BULB BASICS
Sorting out what bulbs
are and how they are

esday. Siade said

school officials are doing everything they can to make the school safe for students and prevent violent attacks such as the pipe assauit

that occurred on Monday.

Native Indian, Iranian students clash at N. Van secondary school

Monday was really uncalled for,”

SIMMERING TENSION between local native and Iranian
youths resulted in the attack on a Carson Graham second-
ary school (CGSS) student on Monday, according to some

close to the incident.

A Grade 12 male franian stu-
dent was hospitalized after he was
struck with a metal pipe.

Three native youths, one aged
{5 and two aged 16, have been
charged with assault causing
bodily harm and assault with a
weapon in connection with the
beating.

Said Sam, a Grade 1} Carson
student, “It was bad. No, I'm not
afraid because I have my friends.
We want this to stop, but we are
not afraid.”’

Sam and eight other students
who spoke. in Farsi outside the

ee.

REACHING EVERY DOOR

By Anna Marie D’ Angelo
News Reporter

school on Wednesday afternoon
told the News that a large group
of Persian (Iranian) youths may
retaliate against members of a
native youth gang called the Bad
Boys Club (BBC).

The teens facing assault charge
are believed to be BBC members.

Meanwhile, CGSS vice-principal
Len Slade said Monday’s assault
could have happened anywhere in

ESTE ER AS NTA Ree Sao ECE Era L Pee Ee

the community.

The beating occurred at the top
of a set of cement stairs in front
of the North Vancouver City
school.

“The teachers here are working
with kids, talking to kids, trving
to assure kids that it was an
isolated incident between a group
of people in the community who
had some feelings against another
group as a result of something
that happened on the weekend,”
said Slade.

Slade had followed the suspects
“at a safe distance’’ before they
were arrested by the police on
Monday.

Teachers at the school are ap-
prehensive, cautious and con-
cerned, Tension was obvious on

Wednesday when school was
dismissed at 3:15 p.m.

Slade and other school officials
paced the sidewalk in front of the
school as students left for the day.
A police car sat parked nearby.

Slade said students are coming
forward anonymously to school
officials with information regard-
ing the incident.

He said the assault was the first
such incident of violence at the
1,)00-student school this year.
There have also been minor
disputes at the school.

Said Grade $) student Andrea
Minoo,‘Last year a fot of stuff
happened. We thought it wouldn’t
happen again this year because the
people aren’t here any more.’’

“T thought waat happened on

she said, adding that she was not
afraid to be at the school.

Said Slade, ‘‘There are a lot of
wonderful things that happen at

this school. In my opinion it’s
unfortunate that we have to focus
on this one incident.”’

Meanwhile, the mother of one
of the youths arrested in the at-
tack said tension between some
native and Tranian youths has in-
creased over the past month.

The woman cunnot be iden-
tified. To do so would reveal her
son‘s identity and contravene the
Young Offenders Act.

The Squamish Nation
said Monday's incident

woman
may be

See Reserve page 3

SLES REN SE OR

ON THE NORTH SHORE SINCE 1969