BY COLIN WRIGHT

At the start of the 2016 school year, Wadsworth High School took on a new motto. “All in for the Worth!” celebrated school spirit by bringing focus to personal goals, as well as goals for the school. The positive campaign to build up a strong community has been very successful, but is endangered by fighting; especially a recent fight that went viral online.

Fighting has always been an unfortunate element of high school. In decades past, fights in school were not seen as a matter of great concern. Usually, no disciplinary action was taken and people moved on quickly. Nowadays, a fight brings serious implications. All students are severely disciplined. If the fight is caught on video, possessing or distributing the video can lead to serious punishment.

“The legal implications are very negative if you’re showing things that people have not approved. Those of you that take the video— you’re not allowed to do it [on school grounds], as it’s unauthorized here,” says WHS Principal Moore. “Even if you’re just sending it, then you’re part of the problem. You’re subject to discipline— and we’re going to discipline this as harshly as we possibly can. It’s not good for our school.”

Fifty years ago, there was no way to record a fight. Videos of fights didn’t go viral, and the negative effects of fighting dissipated as time passed. Now, through social media, fights lose their expiration date. The fight remains a relevant topic of discussion for much longer than it previously would.

“Recording a fight makes the whole situation worse. Going viral encourages more people to try and get in fights to receive their own “fifteen minutes of fame,” says Sophie Peebles, 11.

The high school world today differs greatly from fifty years ago. With all of our technological advancements, there is a greater need for responsibility and awareness online.