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接下來談的是中期徵兆；有這些徵兆的學生也許與幫派有牽連，但還不至於無可藥救。雖然他們以幫派份子為榜樣，但是他們也可能選擇比較好的榜樣，不過他們最容易認同及親近幫派份子。
還有更多的中期徵兆如下：
●幫派手勢的使用：通常出現在和朋友的團體照中。我曾要一個母親給我看她女兒的相簿。其中一張是學校照片，在照片中這女孩穿得很漂亮，而且擺了一個很正式的姿勢。但是在相簿的後面有一張是這女孩與朋友的團體照，全都穿著幫派的服裝。女孩們化了很濃的粧，穿著參加宴會的衣服。照片中每一個人都有一個不同的手勢，這些手勢，警方能夠辨認他們是屬於哪一個特定的幫派。經常當我提出這些時，學生們會說：「噢！別這樣說嘛！我只是穿現在流行的衣服罷了。」
● 成績普遍下降：不僅是一、兩方面，而是所有方面的成績。無故曠課的情形，父母直到很晚才知道。當我到學校去找那些快有麻煩的學生時，我第一個看的就是他們的出席記錄。如果我注意到有學生已有定型缺席現象時，我便會找他們來談話。有這麼一個案：有一個女學生，她的出席表記錄她固定每隔週星期五，或者每隔星期一，一定缺席。查勤人員告訴我：「我們打電話給她母親，她母親解釋說這個女孩那一整天得看醫生。」我心裡想：「一整天？」於是我便把這女孩找來跟她談了一會，瞭解了一下她的家庭背景及歷史，回去對查勤人員說：「下次你打電話到這個女孩家裡時，請務必找一個會說越語或粵語的人。」查勤人員問為什麼？「因為很明顯地，這位母親不會說英語。但是這個學生有一個姊姊，已經從高中退學了。」（很顯然，她姊姊假裝是她母親為她掩飾。）家長提供這種資料給學校及社區計劃，使我們幫助他們子女的能力大增。
●不按時回家，也不解釋。
● 公開反抗權威：或者是父母，或者是學校及其他管理員，有些學生在家很乖，但是在學校就失控。或者相反，在學校很好，在家就很難管束。
●擁有致命武器，這個孩子會說是撿來的，別人給的，或是偷來的。母親會問：「你錢包裹那個東西是什麼？我從來沒給過你刀啊！」「人送我的生日禮物。」孩子這麼回答。我們有一個十三歲的學生，被收到少年罪犯拘留所，因為他在校園裏被抓到攜帶手槍。而他對被抓的反應是：「那是我朋友給我的生日禮物啊！我不會把它用在任何人身上的！」
●持有來歷不明的金錢或物品，不是父母給的呼叫器、昂貴的衣服、電子產品。
●有朋友是幫派份子，或者有朋友經常穿著幫派服裝。
●慣常性地藉飲酒或吸毒來應付生活。
待續
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Next: Intermediate signs. These signs are found among students who are probably affiliating, or who might be affiliating with gangs, but who are not beyond help. Although they take gang members as their role models, they may choose more wholesome role models as well. But they most easily relate to and feel affinities with gang members.
More intermediate signs:
●The use of gang hand signs, often in group photographs with their friends. I asked one mother to show me her daughter's photo album. One was a school photo, in which she was nicely dressed and in a formal pose. But at the back of the album, there was a group photo of her with her friends. They were all dressed up in full gang clothing and apparel. The girls were wearing heavy make-up and party clothes. Everyone in the photo was giving a different hand sign that the police were able to identify as belonging to specific gangs. Often, when I bring this up during counseling sessions, students will say, "Oh, come on! I'm just wearing what's in style."
●Grades going down in all areas—not just one or two areas, but all areas.
●Unexcused absences from school that parents are often unaware of until much later. When I go into the schools looking for students who might be in potential trouble, the first place I look is the attendance records. If I notice any students with a pattern of absences, I call them in for counseling. Example case: A girl student whose record showed a consistent pattern of absences from school every other Friday, or every other Monday. The attendance clerk said to me, "Oh, we phoned her mother, and she explained that this girl has all-day medical appointments." I thought, "All day?" Then I called the girl in and talked with her for a little while, got a little family background and history, went back to the attendance clerk and said, "The next time you call home to this girl's house, please make sure you have somebody who speaks Vietnamese or Cantonese." The attendance clerk said, "Why is that?" "Well, apparently the mother speaks no English. But this student does have a sister who dropped out of high school." (Obviously her sister was posing as her mother and covering for her.) By providing that kind of information to the schools and community programs, parents can make a critical difference in our ability to help their children.
●Curfew is broken consistently and without explanation.
●Open defiance toward authority, either toward parents, or toward school and other officials. Some of these students are fine at home, but are out of control at school, or vice versa.
●Possession of lethal weapons, which the child claims to have found, been given, or stole from someone else. Mother asks, "What's that doing in your purse? I never gave you a knife." "Somebody gave me that as a birthday present," the child responds. We had a thirteen-year-old student who was put in juvenile hall because he got caught on campus with a hand gun, and his reaction to being caught was, "But it's a birthday present from my friend! I wasn't going to use it on anybody!"
●Possession of unexplained sums of money or property: Pagers parents did not give them, expensive clothing they did not give them, electronics they did not give them.
●Having gang member friends, or having friends who consistently dress in gang attire.
●Use of alcohol or drugs on a regular basis to cope with life.
To be continued
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