Yesterday, however, there was little agreement on the reasons behind the problem, who or what was to blame, or how to prevent it from happening again.
As part of an investigation begun last week, the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations called a private meeting with representatives of the Asian community to get their take on the trouble.
Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman had not been invited. But on Monday, she contacted Commission Chairman Stephen A. Glassman and asked to be heard.
So for four hours yesterday, Ackerman and the Asian advocates presented widely divergent analyses of the Dec. 3 attacks, in which Asian students were beaten by large groups of primarily African American students."