It seems as though the amount of school shootings and fights in high schools never diminishes. With the volume there is, consequently, more turmoil amongst students. After COVID-19 surfaced, students and parents thought it couldn’t get any worse but it seems as though students missed striking fear in their peers. 

Fear is a reality for students when they enter school, but that feeling is completely disregarded by those who can attend peacefully and without the constant fear of being the next one bleeding out, on the stretcher, or on the various Instagram fighting pages. Students are desensitized to this until they’re the victim. We, as students, pretend to be oblivious to just how bad it has become until it’s someone we know being carried away and/or on the verge of losing consciousness. Students should be more conscientious of how they treat others and react to their feelings. Constant exposure to negative and violent experiences lessens the person’s response to situations like it. Because of the high rate of school violence, students are disinterested in trying to help solve the problem because they feel it is almost unpreventable.

People didn’t have much to say about the topic unfortunately. Victoria Quinones, a junior at Don Lugo, said “Some students purposefully involve themselves in fights with other students for the fun of it because most of the students here are irresponsible.” I couldn’t help but agree with this statement. The purpose of school is to learn and prepare for life after college but students have managed to convert it into a fighting arena. The amount of fights does not necessarily increase as the amount has always been excessive. Mr. Crisafi, an English teacher and the Quest News advisor, agreed with this statement. “It seems to me like [the amount of fights] is about the same as it has ever been.” He also had similar views to Victoria Quinones in the aspect of students enjoying fights and being in them. He stated, “…students don’t care about fights in the sense that they don’t see them as negative.” His assertion helps us understand that students get amusement out of putting themselves, and others, in danger. With the increase in desensitization, students care about their well-being less. This may be the result of not only what they experience in school but also their home life. 

 Don Lugo especially seems to have a high number of fights compared to other schools in the district. I would not be able to count the amount of fight pages I’ve seen for our school on a hand. Those who can follow, like, and share those pages are just as bad as the ones who make it. I cannot deny that curiosity is in human nature, but the difference between people who enjoy seeing others in pain, hurt, or in danger and those who have innate curiosity is there is no real satisfaction for those who don’t watch for fun. Individuals that can enjoy that kind of content are a prime example of students affected by desensitization. 

School is already an intense environment but students tend to add to it. At what point are students ever going to accept the blame and stop pretending like it’s a fault of the adults? As long as we keep lying to ourselves nothing is going to change about the school atmosphere. I understand there is only so much we can do as students but why are we not taking the steps – that are well within our ability – either?