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This kind of stuff happens all the time at alternative schools. If you don't know what an alternative school is, refrain from quoting.

500 kids is probably about half of the school, if not less, so I am positive there are kids in this school who are there to learn and achieve, you know, ones who are not in gangs and do sports and try to be successful.

This was gang related before race, gangs could be organized by race, but gangsters pride themselves by gang affiliation first and race second.

There are just too many bad kids at that school who need to be locked up and sent to alternative school because they have major behavioral and attitude issues.

I blame the school for letting this kids into classrooms.

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Over 500 kids at each school were involved - sounds like more than a few bad apples!

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Would anything like tis ever happen at an "alternative" school?

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Couldn't be both gang and race related? Can both sides crimes be treated as hate crimes?

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lol. This really sucks for the kids who go to school to learn. Sad this happened in a regular school not an alternative one.

If this was racially motivated, white kids would get it first. I think it was gang related. Many kids at that school are gang members.

All this is a bunch of thugs with bad upbringing. I yelled at some thugs for throwing a soda bottle straight up in the air and almost smashing in a driving cars windshield - Really these thugs are future mothers and fathers or American - SAD, really SAD.

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Instead of training them as editors for the Jersey Journal?

seriously, why are tax dollars being wasted on these wastes of space. can't we just train them as miners and hope for the best?!

These kids are training early for jail riots.

What about introducing classes relating to discrimination, bullying, equal opportunity, racism and anti-social behavior for the students ?

Jersey City police called to Dickinson and Ferris high schools to deal with violence make eight arrests

Friday, October 22, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City police quelled violence and made eight arrests at Dickinson and Ferris high schools yesterday, just two days after a citywide police response was needed to suppress rioting among 350 to 500 Ferris students, officials said.

"It's like you are sending your kids to a war zone," the parent of a Dickinson sophomore said yesterday after seven students were arrested during a riot at the Palisade Avenue school around 12:30 p.m.

Police officers at Dickinson were in a first-floor classroom when they saw a large group of students "running and screaming throughout the hallway," police reports said.

An officer walked into the hallway and "observed hundreds of students fighting, screaming and encouraging the other students to join the melee," reports said.

Numerous police units were dispatched to a large fight inside the school, reports said, adding that a Dickinson security guard breaking up a fight was injured when he fell into a desk.

Six boys, ages 15 to 17, were charged with rioting and disorderly conduct and two were additionally charged with aggravated assault on the security guard, reports said. Dashawn White, 18, of Wilkinson Avenue, was charged with rioting and disorderly conduct, reports said.

A Dickinson sophomore said yesterday there was also a fight in the morning when a boy was "jumped" on Newark Avenue.

The boy said fights appeared to be between African-American students and Hispanic students. Students and a police source said Tuesday's large disturbance at Ferris also involved African-American students and Hispanic students.

Police were back at Ferris at noon yesterday on a report of a food fight and had to force their way past fleeing students to get into the cafeteria, where they found a group of students barricaded behind overturned tables, reports said.

There was "a multitude of various food items splattered all over the entire cafeteria," reports said, adding that more police responded to clear the cafeteria.

At 3:15 p.m., a 16-year-old Ferris boy was arrested at the school and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and other charges, reports said.

When an officer told the boy to leave the school grounds he said, "I don't have to (expletive) go nowhere," and then punched a student, reports said, adding that the 16-year-old was handcuffed after a scuffle with police.

On Tuesday, a food fight at Ferris escalated into a melee involving hundreds of students throwing bottles, chairs, book bags, and overturning tables, police reports. That day, a 16-year-old student at the Downtown school was charged with assaulting a police detective, and a female security guard was injured, reports said.

Jersey City Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr. did not return several calls yesterday seeking comment.

Are Jersey City gangs race based? I thought east coast gangs were equal opportunity.

-------------------------------------
West Coast....

Gang rivalry grows into race war
Battle over the drug trade has led to escalating violence

By Sam Quinones
Los Angeles Times
October 18, 2007

As the story goes, the East Coast Crips robbed a Florencia 13 drug connection of a large quantity of dope nearly a decade ago. Since then, the tale of how a black street gang ripped off a Latino rival has taken on mythic proportions.

...The feud has escalated into what many residents call a race war.

Read - Los Angeles Times

View Larger Map Ferris High stays quiet the day after brawl that police confirm apparently had racial element Thursday, October 21, 2010 By MICHAELANGELO CONTE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER In the wake of Tuesday's large disturbance at Ferris High School, scores of Jersey City police cars, motorcycles and Emergency Services Unit trucks were positioned around the Downtown Jersey City school yesterday as school let out at 12:45 p.m. Additional cruisers were posted on side streets and at locations as much as several blocks away. A food fight that began in the school's cafeteria on Tuesday escalated into a melee, in which 350 to 500 "rioting students" were throwing bottles, chairs, book bags, and overturning tables, according to police reports. A 16-year-old student was charged with assaulting a police detective, and a female security guard at the school guard with various injuries was taken away by ambulance, police reports said. "It was a big fight," 12th-grader Escharling Lopez said yesterday, adding that the fighting had a racial element to it. Lopez said he was in the cafeteria when tensions between African-American and Latino students boiled over when someone threw a piece of food. Police sources confirmed that the incident appears to have been triggered by a conflict between African-American and Latino students. "A lot of kids feel like the reputation of the school went down because of what happened here," a 12th-grader, who did not want to give his name, said yesterday as he left school. Jersey City school officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
View Larger Map

What we need is more people voting next year for school board. This is not just an issue for parents of school children.

Epps wants a nice juicy raise for himself, but still wants to lay off teachers.

Dr. Epps needs to be replaced. PERIOD.

Mandatory Community Service for all of Ferris.

And partly I blame the parents. What the heck is going on. Values people.

Calling this a 'food fight' might be a little misleading.

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Where's the video -- more than 6 out of 500 need to be suspended -- on a side note, as has been said many times -- students should not be allowed to leave at lunchtime - they don't go home -- it's only good for the guys selling cheap pizza slices, fried crap and loosies.

THIS is why Christie doesn't want to keep throwing $20,000+ per student for an "education". Great kids in JC. Go Gov!!!

Our future Leaders!

Jersey City police responding to 'large food fight' at Ferris High School confront 'rioting students'

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City police yesterday responding to "a large food fight" at Ferris High School confronted "rioting students" throwing desks, chairs, food, bottles, cans, garbage cans, and book bags at other students, staff, security guards and cops, police said.

A female security guard was taken away from the school by ambulance and a 16-year-old boy was charged with assaulting a police detective during the incident at the Downtown school that required a response from all "available units citywide" in order to "disperse over 350 to 500 unruly students," reports said.

Security guards and school police officers at the Montgomery Street school were called to the cafeteria shortly after noon where they found students throwing food, heaving chairs, and overturning tables, reports said.

Additional police officers were called to the school to help clear the cafeteria, but fighting then broke out first in the main lobby and then "all over the school" and more radio cars were called to the scene, reports said.

Students who were outside the school "violently pushed their way inside" to join the fighting and began assaulting numerous people and throwing all manner of objects at each other and at the adults, reports said.

That's when a 17-year-old was seen pushing a security guard. That teen was tackled by police and handcuffed after a struggle, reports said, adding that the guard later declined to press charges. A 16-year-old student was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a police detective, reports said.

A school security guard suffered a lower back injury when he was assaulted by multiple students, and a second guard, who was taken away by ambulance, suffered several injuries at the hands of a group of students who ran away, reports said.

Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr. said last night that the disturbance began when one student threw bread at another student in the lunchroom. "With that, someone got annoyed, picked up a chair, and threw a chair," Epps said.

"It was just a handful of kids (involved in the dispute)," Epps insisted, contradicting police reports.

Besides the two students who were arrested, Epps said six other students were suspended.

Epps said school was back to normal 15 to 30 minutes after the massive police response.

Police reports note that the cafeteria fight may have been provoked by an incident earlier in the day and Board of Education President William DeRosa said last night the school is investigating the possibility the initial fight was "gang-related."

"It did sound very serious," DeRosa said about yesterday's fracas. "This is going to have to be halted ...We need to instill in our students ... that there are better ways to resolve things."

The 1,600-student school normally has about eight security guards. That force will be beefed up to about 14 today, Epps said.

Journal staff writer Ken Thorbourne contributed to this story.