Although fights don’t occur often at Brevard High, like at any school, they do happen. Many fights are caused by social media, thanks to cases of hearsay and friends wanting to stir the pot. 

Reactions to school fights are often similar: curiosity and awe.

“I mean, nothing happens at our school, so like every time I see a fight, it’s always kind of shocking and fun to watch,” senior Sophia Miguel said. 

School fights often cause distractions, even if it’s just witnessing the fight. Afterward, students often talk about it, show videos and gossip about who was in the fight or why it happened. 

Many teachers mention how, after a fight, it’s hard to calm a class down or get students to focus. One teacher, science teacher and coach Shane Worley, said he even had to break up a fight in his classroom. 

“I mean, I’ve only broken up one fight,” he said. “It started in my classroom and was horseplay until it turned into bloodshed. I sent them to the office and let the admin deal with it, but they were separated.” 

OCS teacher Andrew Healy, who was vice principal of Brevard Middle for several years, said the best thing is to separate the people involved and try to get more administrators to help cool the situation down. 

He says that they get both sides of the story and use videos or security camera footage to help figure it out. Then parents are contacted and, in the worst cases, law enforcement are called to assess the situation. 

One hard part about fights is the punishment, which depends on the severity of the fight. Josh Galloway, vice principal at BHS, said “it depends if it’s their first time fighting or anything; typically it’s five days OSS (outside school suspension), but if it’s their second or third offense, you might involve higher-up authorities.” 

One student who has gotten into a fight, Weston Blythe, a senior at BHS, was in an altercation his junior year. “He was going to beat my friend, and I said, dude, this isn’t the Miyagi way, and he like ran at me and threw me on the pole. Good times. We went to the office and he got OSS.” 

It’s not always smart or safe to intervene in a fight, a lesson English teacher Sonya Jenkins learned. 

“It was my first year teaching, and these kids were fighting and I wanted to be the hero, so I jumped right in and I got hit right in the eye,” she said. 

Instead, teachers are encouraged to try and safely stop the fight with words. The protocol for teachers is to try and calm the situation down. Some teachers have gotten between kids to try and stop them, or even pulled them apart. 

School fights are more than just drama; they are serious, a distraction and can cause legal harm. Most fights start as something light and turn bigger through things such as social media or gossip. 

Overall, the response to school fights involves a structured approach prioritizing safety and effective conflict resolution.

By Brooklyn Webb