Sophia Chalmers, junior, was in the library last Thursday for Crom Saunders’ storytelling performance when a fight broke out near the end, just outside the library doors.
“I felt really bad,” Chalmers said. “He was doing his act, so I was trying to not focus my attention on the fight, but it was hard to not look at it because everyone was standing up and pointing and yelling.”
Saunders is a deaf storyteller who was here last Thursday for the annual St. Louis County Public Library’s St. Louis storytelling festival. Saunder’s presentation was his first impression of MHS.
Chalmers said after the disruption, the audience’s attention had shifted elsewhere and it was more difficult to focus on the performance.
This embarrassing event was only one of the fights that took place last Thursday. It was also the latest in similar incidents since the start of the year.
Earlier this month a fight took place in the Commons before school and involved several admin and the School Resource Officer.
That fight prompted Principal Dr. Tracey Waeckerle to send an email to parents. It stated: “The safety of our students and staff is always our first priority. We regret that this event took place.”
These incidents present a bad image of our school to the community and the staff who work hard to enhance students’ futures.
We are expected to uphold a standard of excellence at MHS, not just in education but in maturity as well.
Students should refrain from fighting and students who are not involved need to act responsibly and step away. If a situation arises, let the administration handle the situation and refrain from recording fighting.
“I was really disappointed that our event got interrupted,” Ray Holmes, librarian, said. “I was very disappointed in it just because it doesn’t show what is best about Marquette, and about the students here. It has represented us in a poor light to our guests who were visiting here.”
No one wins in a fight, and they affect everyone in the community to varying degrees, making them a selfish act.
Instead of fighting, consider talking to a trusted teacher or counselor.
