Photo Credit: ALEXANDRA MADAR
BY ALYSSA FISHER
Society expects that students in high school are ready to move on into the real world. They become eligible to get a job and drive a car, some can even vote. Seeing how this is the time to grow up, it’s appalling to see students acting like animals at lunch, punching their fists and throwing around crude language. Even after numerous incidents and many consequences, students are still not seeing the bigger picture. We’re at an age where it should be understood that it’s not appropriate to fight your battles with violence. Yet, according to whocanisue.com, a website dedicated to knowing statistics and your rights, 33 percent of high school students in the United States have been in a physical fight just this year.
Compared with other high schools in the area, Cooper City High is a safe place, but there have been a number of fights this year. Keep Schools Safe reported that most feuds are fueled by the most insignificant events. For instance, someone insulted someone else or treated them disrespectfully (54 percent), there was an ongoing feud or disagreement (44 percent), someone was hit, pushed, shoved, or bumped (42 percent), someone spread rumors or said things about someone else (40 percent), someone could not control his or her anger (39 percent), other people were watching or encouraging the fight (34 percent), someone who likes to fight a lot was involved (26 percent), someone didn’t want to look like a loser (21 percent), there was an argument over a boyfriend or girlfriend (19 percent) or someone wanted to keep a reputation or get a name (17 percent).
Teens have become quick to take aggressive action after such disputes, and technology could play a major role. According to the Standard-Examiner, school officials and police officers believe e-mail, texts and social networking are at the root of the escalation of high school violence. In the past, when students were mad at each other, they would go home and time would allow tempers and feelings to cool down. Now, students text and e-mail each other, as well as post remarks on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, causing tensions to rise.
Also, many teenagers witness the behavior in television shows like MTV’s The Jersey Shore, where violence is glorified and appears to be an “effective” way of solving problems. Whether the girls are smacking each other over backstabbing gossip or the boys are punching each other over a girl, the fact that it’s on television makes it look like a natural response to anger. The Mayo Clinic recommends instead that you take a timeout, calm down and then express your anger with words, exercise, or think before you speak to avoid any other issues and identify possible solutions.
Most altercations in school occur for minor reasons, but can have serious consequences. Back in January 2011, nearly a dozen students were led away in handcuffs after a large fight broke out at Northeast High School in Oakland Park. Most of them were charged with disrupting a school function and a few were charged with battery, in addition to being suspended for 10 days. The fight, as senseless as it sounds, was centered around a cell phone.
According to the Code of Conduct, mandatory action must be taken, no matter the reason. A few moments of anger could put you in jail or result in suspension, which not only could keep you out of school events, but also could give you a criminal record and affect you getting into college or getting jobs in the future.
Just one fight could follow you forever. Although most of the fights at CCHS are intended to be harmless, there is always a possibility the situation could turn deadly. According to the Jamaica Observer, in February 2012, a 40-year-old man in a dispute with another at the Nashville Bus Park in Manchester, Tenn. died when he hit his head after being pushed to the ground. Now the other person involved is being charged with homicide, all because he couldn’t find a more mature way to solve his problem. Also, fighting in public as an adult becomes disorderly conduct. The Criminal Law Lawyer Source defines disorderly conduct as one of the most common offenses in the United States and it is prosecutable, which can lead to fines, jail time and other punishments upon conviction.
If someone is provoking a fight, it doesn’t make sense to go through with it. The consequences are clearly not worth it. It’s smarter to back off and watch the provoker lose all privileges than to potentially ruin your year or even your life. While it’s rare to go through high school without having a conflict with another student, it’s how you handle it that makes all the difference. We’re at an age where we need to start preparing for the future, and fighting, as we should have learned in elementary school, is not the answer.
