Violence and vandalism drop slightly at South

The school kicked off a week of activities Monday during School Violence Awareness Week.

By: Linda Seida
   WEST AMWELL — In conjunction with the release of its annual report on violence and vandalism, South Hunterdon Regional High School kicked off a week of activities Monday aimed at promoting nonviolent solutions to bullying and other teenage problems during School Violence Awareness Week.
   The school had fewer reportable incidents during the 2005-06 school year than occurred during the 2004-05 school year. A total of 18 incidents were reported last year, compared with 20 the previous year, Principal Don Woodring said.
   The report, which must be submitted to the New Jersey Department of Education, is broken down into four categories — violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse.
   In the weapons category, there were two incidents. Two different students brought pellet guns onto school property. In one case, a student brought the battery-powered pellet gun to a sporting event. Pellet guns shoot rubber pellets.
   "In today’s climate, you can’t bring anything like that to school," Mr. Woodring said during a meeting of the Board of Education Oct. 19. "It’s considered a weapon, a firearm. When a school says firearm, it could be a Luger or it could be a pellet gun."
   There were 10 incidents of violence, two cases of weapons being brought to school, three incidents of theft (which fall under vandalism) and three incidents of substance abuse.
   Of the 10 incidents of violence, two were for fighting, seven were for threats and one was for harassment.
   The school has a "zero tolerance" policy for any type of violence or harassment, according to Mr. Woodring.
   "We realized that a lot of the violence in (other) schools escalated to the point of bloodshed," he said in a later interview. "Bullying every day creates a lot of anger. It’s important kids know there are other alternatives than retaliation."
   Gone are the days when teachers and administrators would accept bullying or harassment as typical "boys will be boys" behavior, at least at South Hunterdon.
   Saying "boys will be boys is not acceptable," Mr. Woodring said. "It’s not acceptable for a kid to feel unsafe or be bullied on a daily basis or a weekly basis. No student should walk in and feel unsafe. Kids need a safe place. If they’re safe, they can learn. If they’re not safe, they’re not going to want to come to school, and that creates a whole set of other problems."
   The goal is to have harassment and defamation become unacceptable, but students are sometimes hesitant to report such abuses for fear of retaliation. Sometimes, it comes down to others in the school community reporting they’ve seen someone else being bullied or picked on.
   "I’ve had upperclassmen tell me they’ve seen younger ones being picked on," Mr. Woodring said. "You’ve got to have the courage to stand up for the kids who can’t stand up for themselves."
   To spread the message of nonviolence and tolerance, the school held several special events this week that are dedicated to School Violence Awareness Week.
   Peer leaders were asked to promote the wearing of red ribbons Wednesday, which is designated as Red Ribbon Day to encourage nonviolence. Friday, middle school students are scheduled to wear the T-shirts they’ve designed, also to promote the message of nonviolence.
   Each day this week, peer leaders are sharing "tips to remember" during morning announcements, including students’ responsibility to report overheard threats or potentially hazardous situations to a trusted adult.
   "Get to an adult," said student assistance counselor Margaret Christofely. "Reporting bullying is not ‘ratting.’"