By JENNIFER TAYLOR and CHRISTINE OLIVA The Kansas City Star
Date: 04/07/00 22:15
Copyright © 2000 The Kansas City Star

Kendra Dickson doesn't want her school to turn into another Columbine or Jonesboro.

The 17-year-old Winnetonka High School student from Kansas City, North, says she can help prevent school violence.

"I feel safe in my school, but I know it can happen anywhere," Dickson said.

She was one of about 40 students who joined more than 100 teachers, administrators and parents from a four-state region Friday to discuss solutions to school violence.

This first Heartland Safe Schools Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, came as the April 20 anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre approaches.

On Wednesday and Thursday the participants heard from education and safety experts from around the country. On Friday it was the students' turn.

Dickson thinks she can make a difference by reaching out to new students. She hopes to start a program called Peer Helpers to pair freshmen with upperclassmen and help them adjust to high school.

"It is a tough time your freshman year. You're just not sure where to go or what," Dickson said.

That was one solution from one student. Other ideas included teens' standing up for bullied students or simply respecting everyone's differences.

Some participants wanted more teacher training on what to do in emergencies and how to handle troublesome students.

Others suggested getting involved in legislation and pursuing grants for prevention programs. Some wanted another safe schools conference that would include all areas of the community, not just schools.

The department plans to publish suggested solutions in a newsletter in the fall.

Earlier Friday a student panel addressed issues from death threats to dress codes.

After Columbine a wave of bomb threats and other violence swept schools across the country. But after the initial panic wore off, not much changed, the seven panelists said.

Drew Hill, a junior at Spring Hill High School south of Olathe, said that when someone threatened to kill 10 freshmen last year, no one took it seriously.

"We knew nothing was going to happen," Hill said. "In our town everybody knows everybody."

Others also denied such violence could happen in their schools.

"We don't think it will ever happen to us," said Genny Van Horn, a student at Truman High School. "Since all the bomb threats, we've made major security improvements with alarms on the doors if people go in and out. That alarm goes off maybe 15 to 20 times a day, and we don't check it. It's no big deal because it happens all the time now."

But psychologist Mark Erickson of Kaw Valley Special Services in Rossville, Kan., said Littleton, Colo., residents hadn't been worried either.

"I don't believe these kids realize how angry some of their colleagues might be," Erickson said. "They're angry...at society, at their school, at their state, their community."

Students today are faced daily with the possibility of concealed weapons in book bags or pipe bombs in lockers. The psychological issues and pressures are much greater than they were 30 or 40 years ago, said psychologist Andrew Jacobs, a radio talk-show host who mediated the discussion.

Part of the problem is mental illness that goes untreated, Erickson said.

"They're self-medicating by going out and getting drunk or smoking dope or doing crack, and we're not doing anything about it except kicking them out of school," Erickson said. "The ones who need the help the most are the ones who aren't going to get it on their own. We need to invite these kids to be a part of the school."

But Ron Lorenz, a history teacher at Spring Hill, said sometimes it was necessary to remove students who pose a threat.

"I understand that we have a responsibility to all the students -- to those with great minds and those who have been marginalized and pushed aside," Lorenz said. "But I also have to realize that at some point we have to take a stand on what we are going to tolerate.

"If I have to take one kid and get him out of that building...so 400 other kids like him can be safe, I'm going to do that."

To reach Jennifer Taylor, Northland education reporter, call (816) 234-5904 or e-mail jtaylor@kcstar.com

To reach Christine Oliva call (816) 234-4759 or e-mail coliva@kcstar.com