Free State seniors Brianne Martin, center, and Ally Brittian listen as Charles Thomas, the FSHS coordinator for Can

Lawrence High School senior Breanna Bell listens as another student in her group shares her own experiences during a student-led talk on race in schools called One

Nearly four weeks after two instances of racially-tinged vandalism shook Lawrence’s two public high schools, dozens of community members gathered Tuesday in a public forum to make sure they didn’t get swept under the rug.

About 50 students, parents and Lawrence school district employees — less than half of whom were white — talked about stereotypes, race relations and solutions regarding the student bodies of Free State High School and Lawrence High School.

Audience members divided into groups to hammer out the talking points before sharing them with the room. Many said there should be more official school functions that mingle the two student bodies in a non-competitive setting, such as shared dances or art clubs collaborating.

“I think getting behind an initiative like Breast Cancer Awareness (Month) or bullying, or something that we do together, that would be easy and powerful,” said Keith Jones, assistant principal at FSHS, who led Tuesday’s event.

Jones also oversees the Can We Talk program at FSHS, in which students discuss societal issues once a week before school. LHS has the same program, and the two collaborated for Tuesday’s event.

In group sessions, students described a nuanced relationship with their peers at the opposite school. Several said many inter-school friendships exist and no one is teased over it. However, sports games between the schools were repeatedly described as a source of tension due to their competitive nature.

Students said that in the build-up to a game between the two schools, Twitter can become an arena for trash-talking that spills over into personal attacks and racial slurs, even among established friends.

There was also zero disagreement over what stereotypes each school deals with — LHS as a run-down building with more disadvantaged, misbehaving students; and FSHS as a new facility housing “preppy rich kids.”

According to state data from the 2012-13 school year, about 27 percent of FSHS students are economically disadvantaged, while 40 percent are categorized as such at LHS. The difference is largely because much of the city’s subsidized housing for low-income families is in the LHS attendance zone.

Participants also said more emphasis on talking to middle and elementary school students about race and the realities of the two schools would help dissolve friction between the two.

Kim Fuller, a paraeducator at South Middle School and parent of a student, said the relations between the two schools are an “extremely huge” problem.

“I think it needs to start in elementary,” Fuller said, “and then in high school there will be fewer problems.”

Several attendees said afterward they felt the event was productive. Jones said he would compile notes from every discussion group and share them throughout the district.

“I also feel like it was very motivational, like I want to just go home and journal about this and share it with the world,” said Madison Roberts, a FSHS sophomore. “I think that’s kind of what the purpose of this was, to inspire and spread the information through your peers.”