SUSPECTED TEEN STRAIGHT EDGERS TERMED X-RATED

The tension among law enforcement and school officials over the paradoxical
Straight Edge gang left parents of three Taylorsville High School students
incensed recently when they thought their sons were fired from their
part-time jobs for expressing anti-drug sentiments. The teens work after
school at the Granite School District lunch program kitchen.

They were sent home from work after they refused to turn inside out their
T-shirts that were imprinted with ``DYF,'' an acronym for ``Drug Free
Youth.'' But a spokeswoman for Granite District said the T-shirts had a row
of X's below the DYF, ``and that is a known Straight Edge gang symbol.''
The incident occurred shortly after 15-year-old Bernardo Reprenza was was
stabbed to death on Halloween night after he was chased and attacked by a
group identified as Straight Edge gang members.

Many believe the attack was racially motivated. A dozen students associated
with Straight Edge were suspended from Granite District high schools after
the incident for their own protection because of the emotional environment
in those schools. The parents of the school lunch workers say their sons
are not Straight Edgers and were just expressing an anti-drug message.

The district spokeswoman said the youths were sent home after their
supervisor called the Sheriff's Assisting Youth program and was told the
``X'' letters are a known symbol of the Straight Edge gang.

The supervisor talked to the youths, and they are back to work

Luciano Colonna Utah Harm Reduction Coalition 81 O Street o Salt Lake City,
UT o 84103 phone: (801) 532-5081 o fax: (801) 532-5081 lcolonna@xmission.com

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst