Consequences of School Fights 

Alexis Smith

Students are fighting both physically and verbally in schools what seems like more and more frequently. Students get into fights for both self-defense, to gain/ maintain status, or anger.

According to the CDC, 8% of students have been in a fight in the last 12 months. In a group of 200 kids, 16 of them have been in a fight. After a fight students may face depression, anxiety, and fear, says the CDC. 

Eden Washborn, a student at West Middle School says “I would hate fighting because kids are ignorant”, She is saying that when kids get into fights they are not thinking about both personal consequences.

Brittany Smith, A teacher at Fruita 8/9 said, “Not only do fights at school cause long-standing issues between social groups, but they are disruptive to the entire school, it disrupts the school climate and students often forget how to behave at school during the wake of a fight.” This perfectly reflects there are consequences that are not just for those who were in the fights but were associated with people in the fight. After a fight the whole school talks about who fought who, and why. Taking away from the main purpose of school, learning.

In 2021 school fights went up 35% compared to fall 2019. If school fights have risen that much in two years, how often will these fights be in the future? With more stress arising in the world, how many more fights will occur for the same outcome over and over? 

Photo courtesy of Beckett Van Why