A demonstration of what happens frequently in the hallways at Churchland High School.
Over the past year or two, student fighting has been an ongoing problem here at Churchland High School.
Principal Millaci acknowledged the recent discipline problems.
“Out of the seven years I’ve worked here, this is definitely a jump in overall discipline in students,” he said. “There was a two-week period where it was just back-to-back fights, probably around five fights at that time.”
Since the pandemic, the number of fights or problems needing discipline with students have been rising. And even though the consequences can be detrimental, students still continue to fight.
“We should take a stand as a school and as a district to ensure that everyone knows there are consequences,” said Millaci, who believes that taking a stand will make everyone aware that there are consequences for their actions.
Those consequences include getting anywhere from five to ten days of suspension. Students can even get recommendations for alternative placement. If caught fighting with multiple people, students are automatically recommended for alternative placement.
When asked if not having Trucker Hour was a result of those consequences, Millaci’s response was, “Not necessarily. We don’t have enough staff for Trucker Hour, but we do need students to be able to handle themselves accordingly. The biggest issue [for Trucker Hour] is staffing.”
The staff needs people to step forward and speak up if they have problems so they can prevent further issues. “The biggest thing for us is knowing what’s going on,” said Millaci.
Freshman Cori Mills said that a lot of the time fights start because people are “talking mess.” But possibly the main reason why there are so many fights is because people see stuff on social media and bring it to school. The staff doesn’t have everyone's social media so they won’t always know if problems are happening between students.
That’s why if there are problems the best thing to do is say something.
Photos: Brianna Boullt