In less than two minutes, chains were broken, black ink was streaked across the posters and paper was torn to shreds.

"It's so much easier to make war than peace," said senior Lindsey Thomas.

Lindsey, a member of the honor society Arista, was one of 30 students representing 15 diverse clubs who participated in the symposium on tolerance, which was held in the school library.

"No one is born to hate. That is taught. We have to replace that hate with lessons of understanding," said George Anthony, conflict resolution specialist at Wagner.

Anthony organized the symposium with Seeds of Peace, an international organization that brings together Israeli and Palestinian teens, and the Anti-Defamation League.

Students from different clubs mingled and admitted their prejudices, collective goals for the school and frustration about the World Trade Center attack.

"I know what's going on in my head, but not in others. That's why I'm here," Jillian Imburgia, a junior in the Italian club, told Nazish Ilyas, a senior who heads the Muslim Club.

Jillian learned that the Muslim Club canceled its back-to-school meeting because it didn't want students to wonder what they were planning or persecute them. In hindsight, Nazish wishes the club had held the meeting, so that Muslims who felt disconnected had an outlet.

"My friends wouldn't come to school for a week. Nothing happened to me, but I heard stories," said Nazish. Prior to the attacks, Nazish said non-Muslims would joke and call her a terrorist, but now it's not so funny.

"I just don't want to be a target," said Nazish.

Since Sept. 11, tolerance lessons have taken on heightened meaning in several Staten Island high schools. Educators fear that instead of race riots erupting, students will gradually grow to hate other cultures.

At Port Richmond High School, where there is a noticeable Muslim community, a monthly assembly typically dedicated to school policy turned into a forum on tolerance last month. Principal Robert Graham warned students that the Sept. 11 attacks were perpetrated by isolated madmen, not students at Port Richmond who appear to be of the same faith or race as the terrorists.

"We let kids know immediately that it's important to direct anger in a positive way," said Graham.

A Tolerance Committee at New Dorp High School -- which includes parents, staff and students -- has been diligently planning lessons for English and history classes. "The committee always existed, but now there is reason for that committee to be more active," said Principal Deirdre DeAngelis.

A similar viewpoint spurred the organization of yesterday's program."We are faced with a challenge," said Wagner Principal Michael Tobin. "We don't want to sit around and wait for students to come to us. We want to create the opportunity for them to talk about their feelings."

On index cards, students wrote anonymous notes about how the World Trade Center catastrophe affected them. They were asked to share those messages with the group, and eventually, with members of their respective cultural groups.

"I felt like killing someone," wrote one student.

"I feel like I'm living in an emotional prison," wrote another.

Students acknowledged that the school is diverse, but admit Asians eat lunch with Asians, Italian kids walk the halls with Italian kids and Muslim students sit with Muslim students in class.

Erica Porto, a junior in Peer Mediation, said she trusted everyone she spoke to at the symposium and was surprised how easy it was to communicate with unfamiliar students. But Erica and others doubted the sparks of friendships would stay lit outside the intimate gathering.

"Once we get into the hallways, we put fronts on because we'll get hurt if we don't. If we are vulnerable, people will take advantage of us," said Joseph Hann, a senior in the Christian Club.

Though organizers urged them to take a risk and trust others, students weren't convinced. But they admitted that understanding other cultural groups is essential to healing the Wagner community.

"When you are in kindergarten, you don't know how to judge. As you get older, you tend to gravitate toward your own culture," said Punam Thakkar, a junior in the International Club. "It's nice to see we are coming together, but it's sad that it takes a tragedy for us to unite."

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