In recent days, numerous incidents involving incidents of school violence have bombarded parents, educators and students. Such serious matters have left many pondering the reasons why students act out in such an extreme way.

The incidents have prompted New York State to mandate a program by which each school must adopt a code of conduct. While many agree it is important for educators to recognize signs that a student may be in danger of acting out in a violent way, in some Long Island high schools students have taken it upon themselves to make their schools safer.

At a recent fund raiser for the Nassau County Independence Party, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy said that if students are afraid, then they cannot study and they cannot achieve. It is therefore imperative that solutions be sought to allow children to feel safer in the school environment.

In Hempstead High School, some students have tried to improve the atmosphere of their school by reaching out to their fellow students. For their efforts, two of those students, Danielle Reynolds and Gilbert Deans, along with faculty member Thomas Gleason were honored by the Nassau Independence Party for their promotion of non-violence.

It is through programs such as Peer Mediation and Athletes Helping Athletes that students are able to assist their fellow students with life's obstacles and situations, and in doing so, prevent a student's frustration from escalating into violence. These types of programs also help students deal with the pressures of school and fitting in socially with classmates.

Mr. Gleason, the moderator for Peer Mediators and Athletes Helping Athletes as well as the coordinator of the Students Against Violence Initiative, said that students are able to help fellow students in many ways.

He cited an example of a student in Elmira, New York who was identified as someone who might be dangerous by fellow students. That student was found with 14 bombs and two guns in the cafeteria. "The students were the ones who let everyone know that this was going on," Gleason said.

Danielle Reynolds is ranked first in her class. Gilbert Deans is ranked ninth. However, these students, besides succeeding academically, have also contributed to programs that make their school safer by promoting social interaction.

When analyzing why these acts of violence are occurring in schools, perhaps students hold the key to the reasons as well as prevention. Both Reynolds and Deans have made it their responsibility to help better their school.

"We should try to do things to better our school and give it a better image. Instead of just having the negative things show, we should try to get the positive things out," Deans said.

"I'm trying to help the young kids and bring them up with a sense that they can be somebody in this world and they can then bring that to the kids that follow them," Reynolds said.

The Peer Mediators in Hempstead High School are a group of students who volunteered to participate in a three day training session at Adelphi University run by the Educational and Assistance Corporation. These students who finished the training were honored by Judge Denise Sher with certificates as Peer Mediators.

These students meet every Thursday after school to continue practicing their skills and some are ready to start mediating disputes between fellow students. The Peer Mediators are also positive role models for their fellow students and will be working on other projects to improve the environment of their school.

The Athletes Helping Athletes is a group of student athletes who were chosen to be role models to younger students. The process by which these students were chosen included an interview by present Athletes Helping Athletes, examination of their grades, and citizenship. These students then undergo training by professionals from Athletes Helping Athletes.

Once the students are trained, they then make presentations to fifth-grade classes. During these classes, proper decision-making, academics and opportunities at the high school and other topics are discussed.

Programs such as these are ways in which to improve the school environment and by improving the school environment, the chance of violent incidents is reduced.

Deans said the key to preventing school violence is learning to communicate. "If you can let your emotions out through talking to a friend or a priest or clergyman or someone you trust, as long as you can get those emotions out, that's the answer - just getting those emotions out instead of using violence to express yourself," he said.

Reynolds said communication is the key. Adults and teachers as well as fellow students should make an attempt to talk to those who are having problems and try to make kids more sociable instead of feeling isolated, she said.

It is also important to give those kids who may lack self-esteem a sense of importance so that kids who may have difficulty in a social setting such as school where pressure on kids to fit in can, at times, be overwhelming, feel better about themselves instead of acting out, Deans believes.

While there may be no easy answer to preventing school violence, it is clear that everyone involved in the educational process, from teachers to parents to students can play a part.

At Hempstead High School, students such as Deans and Reynolds are clearly doing what they can to make the educational experience more pleasant for their fellow classmates.

"Kids seem to enjoy talking to the older kids. They're closer in age than their teachers so they tend to talk to us about things that may happen around the house," Deans said.

"They seem happy to be able to talk these things out," Reynolds said. "They know they can come to someone who has been through it before, someone who is going to tell you how it is."

While schools have received their share of negative attention in recent days, it is students like Deans and Reynolds and teachers like Gleason who deserve their share of credit for trying to create a positive atmosphere and combat the ills now associated with educational institutions.