Few white families sent their kids there, but every other group did—Asians (44 percent), African Americans (33 percent), Latinos (18 percent). Oakland’s open enrollment process allowed families to apply to any school in the district, and Oakland High was a popular choice. Kids traveled from all over the city, north, east, and west, leaving behind their neighborhood skirmishes for a school they hoped might be a little safer, a little saner than the one closer to home. There was a security guard posted at the front gate to keep the craziness out, but there was plenty of craziness to be found
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