Gifted Programs: How elementary school GATE programs can affect students’ mindsets - page 5
Volume 29, Issue 1
sports
entertainment
feature
Gamers Rise Up: Minecraft experiences sudden resurgence in popularity - page 6
voice
the bruin
Late Start: Students and coaches express frustration with late practice start times - page 7
September 20, 2019
Postgame brawl results in 11 arrests ‘Friday night football should be a family event’ — parent By ALEX BUSSEY OPINION EDITOR
The Bear Creek versus Lincoln football game on Sept. 13, with a near-record crowd of approximately 2,000 students according to Principal Hillary Harrell, should have been a fun, spirited experience for everyone involved — but the event turned violent when multiple fights erupted, raising concerns regarding the dangers of attending high school football games. Aaron Fonzi, who leads Christa McAuliffe’s music program, sent out a social media post at 5:00 p.m. to his students who were to perform that night at the game. The post said the rumors of a gun were unsubstantiated and their performance would go as planned. “Had I known that [gun threats were being made], I would have cancelled the game,” Harrell said. While no weapon was found, that didn’t stop multiple fights from breaking out during and after the game, both in the stadium and the Bear Creek parking lot. According to the Stockton Police Department, dozens of SPD units were dispatched to the school, where 11 arrests were made, including eight students from various high schools. But it wasn’t just students getting into fights: three adults aged 42, 26 and 18 were among those arrested. Afterward, students and staff members alike cried out for policy changes to be enacted for the increased safety of everyone involved in football games. Some staff members argue that Bear Creek simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the large number of attendees. Bear Creek Athletic Director Jason Johnson says that he has concerns
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATTHEW ZAHOS
Standing Guard: Police officers wait outside of Bear Creek after numerous fights broke out at a football game on September 13, resulting in 11 arrests. about inadequate infrastructure and security. “We need to hire several more campus supervisors and have them posted in an easily identifiable uniform at the base of the home crowd, two in the home snack bar area, and three for the guest side and snack bar,” Johnson said. Johnson pointed out that because Bear Creek only has four campus supervisors total, it needs to hire private security to supervise games. Harrell says that steps are being taken to ensure games are safer for all students. “We will be updating our procedures for our football games, and we will update parents and students on new policies prior to our next football game,” Harrell said in a phone call home to all Bear Creek families.
Many students say that despite the events that occurred, they will continue to show their support at football games. “I will still attend games because of [the] positive and fun things that happen in the Creek Crazies area, but I will be more aware and cautious during football games, especially when leaving,” junior Russell Sunio said. Other students have expressed their hopes that Friday’s situation was a onetime deal. “Hopefully, [Friday night] is the last time something like this is going to happen because I plan to go to as many games as I can because this is my senior year,” senior Amritpreet Mahal said. While some students say that the fights won’t affect their attendance of future games, other students and parents say that they will be less likely to attend foot-
ball games in the future. “I personally wouldn’t feel safe attending games in the future, especially because Bear Creek didn’t shut the game down after it got rowdy and dangerous,” junior Ariel Good said. Bear Creek junior Deepika Sahota says she was pushed to the ground during one of the earlier fights. “I was walking back from the bathroom and happened to walk right through where the fight was starting,” Sahota said. “My friends got out of the way, but I was pushed to the ground. We were all really scared because we didn’t know what was going on or if we were going to get hit.” Some parents are also hesitant to send their children to football games alone. “I told my teenage daughter who was with me that she will never go to a game without an adult,” parent Sunshine Hollingsworth-Kellogg said in a comment on Facebook, noting the number of students she witnessed smoking and drinking. “Friday night football should be a family event,” Bear Creek parent Sara Maynard said in an interview with Fox 40 on September 14. “You know, it should be for the kids. They practice hard, they want to play. They play their hearts out and the focus should be on the game, not our safety as to what’s going on around us.” For some, this public brawl, following the one in May where videos of a flying trashcan went viral, is an embarrassment to students and staff. “This is both sad and embarrassing for our campus,” Johnson said. “Even though Bear Creek students were not the sole instigators of issues, the events of Friday night are a reflection of our school and our students.”
Admin, staff struggle to im- New restrictive plement lockdown protocol phone policy in effect
By JOSEPH MANIVONG STAFF WRITER
In its first scheduled practice lockdown of the year on Sept. 4, some students and staff mistakenly thought they were in a fire drill, while others thought they were experiencing a lockdown drill. The contradictory directions via emails from Principal Hillary Harrell and Assistant Principal Dennis To added to staff confusion. After a fire alarm mistakenly went off, To sent an email to Bear Creek staff. “The alarm you heard earlier went off by accident,” the email said. “Our actual lockdown drill will be announce[d] and start at 9:45 a.m. followed by a fire drill.” One minute later, Harrell sent an email saying that the school would only be having a lockdown drill. Similarly, during an unscheduled lockdown in May, students say protocols were not followed. “We were taking our Spanish written final, and we were on a time limit,” junior Ivy Ma said. “[Our teacher] closed the windows and locked the door and told us to keep working.” Some teachers treated the lockdown as free time and allowed students to use their cell phones. “[I told the students to] be quiet [and] sit down,” AP Psychology teacher Lana Gentry said. “[It was] the only time [for them] to actually sit their on [their] cell phones.” Today, the prevalence of
By BAILEY KIRKEBY CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
PHOTO BY KATHI DUFFEL
Duck and cover: AP Language students hide under desks during the lockdown drill on Sept. 4. The practice drill resulted in confusion as several classes headed to the field thinking it was a fire drill. shootings has become so commonplace that it has caused panic among some students while desensitizing others. Senior Joshua Rivera does not fear a shooting, but he believes it can happen. “I would say that anything’s a possibility, that anyone has the potential to be a school shooter if they have access to weapons,” Rivera said. Other students believe the mental health resources offered at Bear Creek are apt enough to help potential shooters. “[I don’t fear a shooting] since Bear Creek has ways to help people who have mental problems,” junior Donald Nguyen said. To says that Bear Creek adminstrators are taking steps to prevent school shootings. “We have a gentleman… in charge of maintenance and operation, but [he is] more on the
safety side [of things],” To said. “[He] tried to… emphasize us doing drills every year… for emergency situations. [We] are thinking about using technology [to] make an announcement remotely, like from my cell phone… in case I can’t get to the public address system.” Bear Creek campus supervisors are tasked with keeping potential shooters outside of campus and away from students. However, some parts of the campus are left unmonitored due to a lack of supervisors. “The campus is so big that the campus security here is not enough,” To said. “We only have four [campus supervisors]. [Administration] was looking at zones that aren’t covered and asking for more security to keep the campus safe.” Bailey Kirkeby contributed to this article.
After repeated warnings, Bear Creek administrators will now begin enforcing the school’s policy regarding phone usage when students walk to restrooms during class. According to Bear Creek Principal Hillary Harrell, this year, administrators plan to uphold the student handbook and school board’s policy of not allowing students to use their personal electronics during “instructional time.” Although the policy has been in place in previous years, administrators did not strictly enforce it. “All of the administrators have told people to put away their phones,” Harrell said. “I think what we haven’t enforced or followed up with is removing the child’s phone from them.” This year, however, Harrell says administrators will begin taking away students’ phones if they use them during instructional time in an effort to make students more engaged with their surroundings and to more effectively teach students how to function in society. “I notice young people will come up to me with their earphones in, and that’s not very respectful,” Harrell said. “That’s probably one of the number one complaints you get from employers about hiring [this generation]: they’re always on their phones and don’t know how to engage with people.” Harrell says that if administrators see a student using a phone while walking to the restrooms, the phone will be confiscated, and the student will be able to retrieve it from the office at the end of the school day. “If I’m at the apex and I see a student near the bathroom on their phone, I’m not gonna sprint and try to take their phone away from them, but I’ll have a conversation — hopefully in a lowkey way — and then I will take the phone,” Harrell said. To similarly address problems of excessive phone use among students, some teachers require students to leave their phones at the front of the classroom during instructional time. “For my Pre-AP classes, [students] have to turn in their phones to my cell phone box at the beginning of the period, and they can’t get their cell phones back until the bell rings for the end of the period,” Pre-AP and AP Biology teacher Kim Forbis said. “For AP, there is no cell phone policy; it’s up to them to be responsible. It’s a college course, so I treat them like they’re college kids.” SEE PHONE POLICY: PAGE 2