Hispanics flee as fights, racial tension rile Indianapolis Washington High School
*Latinos are 5.6 percent of the population of Indianapolis – that’s roughly 77 thousand people. The George Washington community High School neighborhood had been, until recently, a Latino enclave. VL
By Hayleigh Colombo, Chalkbeat indiana
Adela Campos decided to skip her senior year at George Washington High School to get away from the violence.
There’s just nothing left for her at the West side school, she said. Her friends, many who are also Hispanic, have transferred to other schools. Her schedule was dotted with substitute teachers.[pullquote]“The Latino students are feeling very much oppressed.”
-Monica Medina, IUPUI professor
[/pullquote]But above all, the 18-year-old from El Salvador said she doesn’t feel safe. So she pushed herself to graduate early.
“The students basically took over the school,” Campos said. “There’s fights almost every day. You don’t know if somebody is going to come up and hit you for no reason.”
[tweet_dis]The urge to flee has spread among Hispanics at a school that has long been a hub for them.[/tweet_dis] Last year, nearly a third of the students — 32 percent — were Hispanic. This year, that percentage dropped nine points to 23 percent.For the first time in five years, George Washington — located in the center of one of Indianapolis’ most heavily Hispanic neighborhoods — no longer has the district’s largest share of Hispanic students.
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[Photo by Hayleigh Colombo]
