It’s been a hot topic this weekend and it has sparked a lot of emotion and opinionated conversation.

 

Like everyone else, I cringed when I saw video - which was floating around Facebook - of a Bridgeport High School student throwing punches at another student in the school gymnasium. At first, I felt hurt for the victim. I don’t think physical violence is the solution to any problem. Like many, I was wishing someone would have helped. 

 

But my second thought was that the footage – which lasted only seconds – was a snapshot in time and that no one watching it really knew the circumstances surrounding it.

 

Many jumped to the conclusion that the video had captured an incidence of bullying and that the students sitting around watching were guilty by association because they did nothing to stop it.

 

According to Principal Mark DeFazio, it was not a case of bullying. It was an isolated incident during which words between students triggered a defense mechanism and one student felt provoked. That doesn’t make it OK. But we’re talking 16-year-olds. It does happen.

 

The incident took place early Thursday morning, before classes started at BHS. Upon entering the school, underclassmen enter the gym to wait on the bell, signaling start of the school day. So there were only freshmen and sophomores there. Sure, we’d all like to believe that our kid would go to the rescue and do the perfect thing. But how many times have we as adults not reacted to a situation the way we wished we would have?

 

“Hindsight is not only clearer than perception-in-the-moment, but also unfair to those who actually lived through the moment.” Or as is often said “hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

 

As a result of conversation that resulted from this incident, perhaps some of the students present will react differently if they ever witness something like this again.  As a rule, the school doesn’t want students to get directly involved in the action. That’s more kids that can be injured and, if they end up throwing punches, they know they will face consequences too. Plus, Mr. DeFazio thinks the kids were likely caught totally off guard. It’s not something they typically encounter.

 

Also taking a proverbial thump has been the school and administration. Where were they when this happened? Why were the students left unattended?

 

Principal DeFazio was at the school entrance, greeting students – as he does each day - as they enter the building. Both of the students involved in the incident came through the door and spoke to him shortly after 7 a.m. then went into the gym - which is monitored on daily basis - to wait on the bell. 

 

But someone did, in fact, report the incident to Mr. DeFazio. It was actually the boy who threw the punches. He knew he was in the wrong and he faced the consequences. And there were consequences, not only those according to school policy, but the matter was turned over to local law enforcement.

 

The school office has received many phone calls, insinuating that administration is not doing its job, that school administrators think they are higher and mightier than other schools and something like this incident is happening right under their noses. Some of those callers, after delivering their insults, have even hung up on the person answering the phone. Now, who’s doing the bullying?

 

The BHS administration does not feel any superiority to any other schools. Some of our students come from broken families and poverty-stricken homes. There are drinking and drug problems. The school is not exempt to those types of problems. And though there are very few - between zero and one or two per year – there are also occasional fights. And when they do happen, they are usually between girls.

 

With some 750 students, a faculty of 72 cannot watch every student at every moment. There are not teachers, for instance, stationed in stairwells or restrooms. But through constant communication – with all students on an even playing field – the faculty and administration do their best to steer students away from aggressive behavior. I personally know of teachers who make themselves available to the kids, to lend an ear or a shoulder or share heartfelt advice. For the most part, those kids listen to what they are told and heed that advice.

 

Like everyone else, Mr. DeFazio said he cringed when he saw the video. He and his fellow administrators are not trying to sweep the incident under the rug in any way. He has been at BHS for 18 years and has never ignored or turned his head to a fight. That would be ridiculous, he said. What kind of school would that be? What kind of administrator would he be?

 

For 12 of those 18 years, my husband and I have had kids attending BHS. We are among parents who have felt very confident that any matter that comes up at the school is being taken care of.  

 

I think we as BHS parents are quite fortunate. I know there are fights at schools across the county. They are usually not captured on video and therefore the public doesn’t hear about it.

 

Principal DeFazio cannot guarantee parents that there will never be another fight at BHS. He and his staff will continue to do their best to run a disciplined school and he feels confident that those efforts –  have been very good. 

 

Julie Perine can be reached at 304-848-7200, julie@connect-bridgeport.com or follow @JuliePerine on Twitter. More "It's Happening" HERE.