North Lawndale students celebrate 150 days of non-violence at school

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Students and staff at North Lawndale College Prep celebrated 150 days without a fight at school this year, hoping to send this message: "Peace is Possible."

Administrators call this a big victory, since three quarters of students report having witnessed gun violence outside of school and most come from parts of the city with high violent crime rates.

One of the reasons North Lawndale has been so successful in keeping tensions low is because students are recruited as active participants. "Peace warriors" are trained to spot and stop physical altercations before they start.

"They know when a fight might break out long before adults do," North Lawndale College Prep President John Horan said. "So how do you utilize student commitment to peace, student voice and student fatigue with violence in the keeping of peace? It's really do-able."

"To have that voice to step out and make a difference to somebody, even one person, it's a big thing," senior N'Chrisha Frills said.

Students marched proudly Friday morning from the school's Christiana campus to the Collins campus on South Sacramento Boulevard. They held a "Peace is Possible" rally after the march, with performances and lots of cheering.

This is the first time in four years that students at both campuses reached their non-violence goals, making this a long-awaited celebration for graduating seniors.