By Anthony Rifilato and Dana Williams
Police responded to the school several times beginning on March 7, when more than 50 students were involved in a huge imbroglio that resulted in injuries to at least two staff members as well as some students, overwhelmed the school's staff and sparked concern throughout the community.
"A series of altercations took place at the high school during the last few days," school spokeswoman Cristina Schmohl said last week. "The district is taking this quite seriously. They want the students to feel safe."
Though Baldwin High is regularly assigned two School Resource Officers and has security guards in the building, police were called to break up Wednesday's melee, which occurred just as school was being dismissed at 2:45 p.m. There were sporadic brawls the next day, resulting in an increased police presence inside and outside the school.
School officials and police said it is unclear just how the incidents started, and how they escalated into a series of brawls. Sources said they may have grown out of a rivalry between several juniors and seniors that erupted earlier in the week, possibly over comments about a girl or the result of bullying by members of either class.
"This beef started a long time ago, and the two grades just finally had it out on Wednesday," said one junior who was involved in the fight but spoke only on condition of anonymity. "We're not innocent in all of this, but some seniors are walking around jumping juniors in the hallway and we have to defend ourselves. Some seniors said they feel disrespected because they think that juniors think they're all that."
But a teacher at the school said she heard it was the other way around, with the juniors pushing the seniors around and instigating the fights. "It's unclear to me as a teacher here how it started," said the teacher, who asked to remain anonymous. "Some students told me it's the juniors bullying the seniors."
Despite both of those claims, Schmohl and police said that it is unclear who started the fights, and they are working to separate fact from rumor amid talk of weapons and gang activity, both of which, they said, are false. "We want to make sure to tell the facts and not rumors," Schmohl said. "The school is trying to maintain control and keep it calm. As of now, the police are investigating. We do know that rumors involving weapons and gang fights are both not true."
First Precinct Inspector Rick Capece agreed. "It's definitely not gang-related or anything like that," he said. "The juniors and the seniors are fighting with each other."
No arrests had been made at press time, though Schmohl said several students involved had been suspended and that school officials and police continued to investigate the incident. She added that whoever is responsible would face very serious consequences. "Those students will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Schmohl said.
The March 7 fight took place in the school's commons area, and many described a chaotic scene, with boys pummeling each other and trampling innocent bystanders. Capece and Schmohl said that a teacher, a security guard and several students were injured during the altercation, though none of the injuries were serious. "There were a couple of students and staff who were caught up in the situation who were hurt," Schmohl said, adding that they were evaluated by EMS personnel.
One source said that a teacher was trampled as she attempted to help a security guard caught up in the melee, resulting in an elbow to the eye and a dislocated shoulder. Both the teacher and the security guard were attempting to either break up the fight or help others during the incident. "She was down on the floor and they had to take her away in an ambulance," another teacher said of the woman.
Other students and staff members who were innocent bystanders or who tried to break up the melee were inadvertently caught up in it as well. "It's unfortunate that the actions of some students are reflecting poorly on the entire student body and the good things that happen at Baldwin High School every day," Schmohl said.
The incidents led to a number of schedule changes and restrictions at the school, including the cancellation of many after-school and sports activities, including Friday's Tea Dance. Entry into the building was limited as well, and all students were required to show ID cards.
Despite an increased police presence, things were not quiet the following day. More fights broke out throughout the day on Thursday, one of which included two rival groups of girls. "There was another fight Thursday with the senior girls and junior girls for the same reason," said the student who was involved in Wednesday's incident. "In the hallways, you have juniors and seniors bumping into each other on purpose to try and start a fight. There's a lot of tension. It's like a who-runs-the-school type of thing."
No injuries were reported as a result of Thursday's fights. On Friday, many of the restrictions and precautions were still in place, and the cafeterias were closed as well. Students were forced to leave the school for lunch or eat in an assigned seat in the auditorium during a supervised lunch period, according to a statement posted on the district's Web site.
Some parents said their children had trouble getting back into the school after they left for lunch Thursday and Friday, and many opted to go home early. Others were kept in classes for an hour or more as police and school staff dealt with the altercations.
Capece said that police had five patrol cars assigned to the school on Friday, after they learned that another possible fight was going to take place after school. Though the fighting ceased on Friday, the police presence has continued this week, and school administrators scheduled a community meeting on Tuesday to address the issue.
"The school is working with police, who have a strong presence at the school," Schmohl said. "District administration is working with the Baldwin High School community to restore the school environment."
Fear of another big melee cast a pall over the school, some observers said, and the incident has sparked concern among many teachers, students and their parents, who said that the ordeal was overwhelming. "We don't want it to sound like our high school is more dangerous than other schools, but my biggest concern is what the school is doing about it," said one parent who asked that her name not be used. "It just sounds like a state of emergency."
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