“I was walking down the stairs by C hall, and I just heard what sounded like someone’s head being cracked on the ground. By the time I got there, they were just on top of each other fighting,” said junior Samantha Hernandez.
Hernandez was one of the many eye witnesses to one of the recent fights on Carlmont’s campus.
“Everyone’s been talking about it, everyone knows who it is and what happened and everything,” said sophomore Erin Alonso.
Referring to the four fights that occurred the week of Feb. 10 to the Feb. 13., senior Amelia Tupou said, “In all four years that I’ve been here, there’s never been so many fights within just a few days.”
Grant Steunenberg, Carlmont Administrative Vice Principal, said, “If fights do breakout, the system has broken down.”
“This is my ninth year as Vice Principal, and these sorts of thing happen in waves,” said Steunenberg. “ If you look, there is probably just as many fights this year as there were last year.”
“I’m new here, and at my old school there weren’t as many fights in such a short amount of time. I don’t necessarily feel unsafe, it just kind of puts me on edge,” said sophomore Andee Liljigren.
On the other hand, some students, like junior Thomas Gifford, do not mind the fights on campus: “I don’t see it as a big deal; it keeps things interesting,” he said.
Disciplinary action will be taken, though specifics are confidential: “California Education Code has consequences in place including required suspension if a physical altercation occurs, ” said Steunenberg.
In addition, prevention measures are being taken. Steunenberg said, “We have something called ATS (Alternate to Suspension) that is basically counseling for the student.”
Suspension and counseling has not stopped some students at campus from physically fighting. “People know that they’re going to get in trouble, I mean I guess they don’t care,” said Tupou.
According to Steunenberg, “These students are teenagers and their hormones are racing. It prevents them from thinking clearly when emotions become involved.”
“Believe it or not, students bring us most of our information, because they don’t want to see their friends get hurt,” said Steunenberg. “It’s a misconception that it’s snitching, but it helps us mediate and solve problems.”
The most recent fights have allegedly broken out in the moment. “For the two fights that I saw, I didn’t expect them to happen, it wasn’t like people knew there was going to be a fight,” said Hernandez.
Regardless of how they happened, students have all formed an opinion on the subject: “I think the causes of all these fights are really stupid, because they aren’t going to matter later on in your life, and they probably won’t even matter in two weeks,” said Hernandez.
While administration and students try to help relieve stress on Carlmont’s campus, fights will inevitably occur. “You never know what will happen when two people become violent with each other,” said Steunenberg.
