
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 6, 1990                   TAG: 9003062225
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A12   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAWTHORNE, CALIF.                                 LENGTH: Short

PRINCIPAL'S RESIGNATION SPARKS RIOT BY STUDENTS

Scores of police officers in riot gear helped calm hundreds of teen-agers who hurled bottles, looted a store and vandalized cars during a protest against what they said were racist school hiring policies.

Six teen-agers were arrested and one minor injury was reported Monday, police Sgt. John Beerling said.

The demonstration was held in support of Hawthorne High School Principal Ken Crowe, who recently announced his resignation because he was going to be reassigned.

Crowe, who is black, has accused the school board of failing to support his attempts to rid the school of racial harassment.

A racially mixed crowd of about 400 students from Leuzinger High School in Lawndale left classes in the morning and marched more than a mile to Hawthorne High School, 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The schools are in the same district.

"During the march, the students became unruly and began rioting," Beerling said. He added that damage was confined to a few broken windows and dented fenders.

About 100 police officers herded many of the protesters onto the school football field, where officials heard their complaints of discriminatory hiring practices, Sgt. Mike Effler said. The students were later bused back to their school.

by CNB