By Brian Hughes ‘15

The recent spate of fights among Sherwood students has brought attention to the behaviors of the students who stand by to watch. Often times, action taken against the students who actually fought one another reaches detention or suspension, but there are no consequences for spectators unless someone is caught recording or posting a video. Even then, the repercussions for those students only go as far as removal of the videos.

Students recording fights with their phones and showing them to their friends, mainly through social media, is not a new phenomenon, but is definitely growing. Staff members try their best to limit the circulation of videos, but they know that only so much can be done to stop it.

“We usually try to make sure that phones that do record a fight are erased so that the videos don’t make social media. We don’t usually punish in the sense of suspending for that kind of thing,” said Assistant Principal Erin Mazer. “We’ll meet with students and encourage them to take [any videos] down. I’ve never had a student in my experience who has refused.” Mazer thinks that rather than punishing students, educating them better on the seriousness of posting fight videos on the Internet is a more effective path to take.

Students who crowd around a fight also pose as major obstacles for staff trying to stop a brawl. Mazer explained that students moving away from a fight is “for their own safety and for the safety of everyone else who is involved,” adding that “when [staff] are trying to push through kids, fighting could last longer because we can’t get there.”

There are issues beyond safety as well – ones of ethical concerns. As Security Team Leader Patrick Rooney put it, “Every time [students] put one of these videos up for everyone in the world to see, [they’re] slamming this school’s name. It’s a slap in your face and it’s a slap in my face.”

He also understands why some students feel tempted to pull out their phones when a fight arises. “It’s like when you’re driving and on the side of the road there’s a bad accident so everybody slows down,” said Rooney. “It’s a human-being mentality, just like it is to record [fights] with your phone out so you can say ‘hey, look at this fight.’”

That is exactly what some students are doing: standing by a fight with their phones ready to go.  Spectators see it as entertainment, ignoring any problems they might be causing. The use of social media, specifically Twitter and YouTube, yields many opportunities for students to exploit the fights.

“I record the videos because it’s not only really entertaining to watch and talk about after the fight happens, but the amount of memes and jokes that rise afterwards are the most entertaining thing ever,” said a junior male who wished to remain anonymous. “If anything has a possibility to go viral nowadays, it is beat-downs and fight videos. Twitter is clear evidence of that.”

The student also noted that he uses videos for purposes other than just a laugh or two, sending students videos or letting them watch videos on his phone for money.

In general, he is not worried about recording a fight or the consequences for posting videos. “When I put up videos I don’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong. There’s no real penalty or consequence so it’s hardly something you’d ever think about,” said the student.