Category Archives: Public Safety

School fights continue to be a problem at Patterson

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by Ashley Sarmiento Rodriguez

Why do students fight in school? I’m a senior at Patterson High School and over the last few years I’ve seen many students get into fights around me. Some of my fellow students have even lost their lives because of school-related problems.

My 9th grade year was the first year Patterson’s new building was open. There were always many students having problems and they would constantly be fighting around the school with seemingly no consequences. I always wondered why the teachers and staff never called the parents of Patterson students who started fights and at least let parents know what the school where their children go to had going on, especially when there would be multiple very large fights going on school.

In December and January 2024, I posed that question to some of the school’s hall monitors and Climate staff. Ms. Enjoulek Jackson (AKA “New York”) said “We aren’t allowed to just call home and tell the students’ parents that there have been fights at school because they need permission from school boards to call parents and then if that was to happen it leads to parents being worried and rushing to come take their kids out of school over a situation that they will always have under control; Unless it involves a more serious situation–then they do call students’ homes.

I walked around the school interviewing Patterson staff/hall monitors and also our school police–Officer Torbit and Officer Jones–questions about these fights.

A few hall monitors such as Mr. Rivas told me students fight mostly over drama on social media and also problems which are easy to resolve but which some students don’t really like to resolve in easy ways. 

When asked how many fights the Patterson hall monitors had seen in the past month, most estimated the number at around 15-20 fights while others said about 3-5 fights. Some hall monitors like Mr. Walker haven’t seen many fights while others have seen fights break out more often in certain areas of the school.

Average number of fights per week witnessed by hall monitors in December 2024 (Source: Interviews with hall monitors)

Officer Jones said when someone gets into a fight at Patterson, she and or her partner would go to the location of the fight and stop it and figure out what happened and make sure everyone’s OK. Then the student is brought to the administrators and they figure out who was in the wrong and the guilty parties get suspended for 3-10 days depending on the way things escalated. 

Although school fights remain a serious problem at Patterson, a lot of progress has been made over the past few years. Three years ago, fights and problems at school were really bad and there was an uncountable amount of fights and dangerous activities going on, but by the time I entered 11th and 12th grade, the fights had most definitely calmed down and the school climate has continued to be calmer than it used to be. Yet even now, every other day there is a fight going on in school. 

What do school staff members do to prevent these fights and problems happening during school? According to Mr. Will, “After a fight we break it up, figure out what happened, then have a mediation group and make sure both parties resolve and agree to not fight again during school hours.”

At the end of the day I think Patterson High School is now changing for the better and there are far fewer fights than there used to be. The school is actually trying to prevent them and has put things in place to help achieve that goal. Patterson High School has long had a problem with fights that students keep causing. Although my research shows that it has gotten better over the years, it’s still an ongoing problem. I am hoping many students read this and realize that this is a problem in our school and maybe help stop or prevent a fight. At the end of the day, there are many other ways to resolve a problem or conflict.

How effective is Patterson’s uniform policy?

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by Snit Kahsay and Mirian Maurizaca

Are uniforms effective at Patterson High School? Many students do not appreciate having to wear uniforms every day but some feel differently about them. To what extent do school uniforms make an impact and is that impact more positive or negative?

According to Principal Myrick, uniforms prevent students from getting picked on for not being able to afford fancy clothing. “…Some students can’t afford fancy clothes, so wearing uniforms prevents them from getting teased because everyone is on the same level when they are in uniforms”, stated Ms. Myrick. Patterson High School provides free uniforms so students don’t have to pay for their uniforms. However, free uniforms are only given out at the start of the school year. 

Uniforms could also be a part of safety. It can help identify students out of the building and inside, “…Because we have so many students so it helps us identify who’s in this school,“ not only does it help identify students but it represents our school pride “…uniforms show school pride it shows that you’re proud to go to this school,” stated Ms. Myrick. Additionally, Ms. Myrick said  “ Yes, I think it has an impact on their safety because it’s easier to identify students that don’t belong in the school  especially when it’s in the school area where people that don’t belong in the school are around the school property.

The Patterson Press conducted a survey of almost 100 students in late December 2024 to see how they felt about school uniforms. The results show that Patterson High School students have different thoughts and perspectives about school uniforms. 57.5% of students who responded to the survey said that uniforms were not important, but a significant minority disagreed.

Students expressed mixed opinions when responding to open-ended questions in the survey. “[The uniforms] are okay but I wished we had more options,” said one student. Since outfits come from creativity and inspiration, a common complaint was that uniforms do not allow students to express their individual style. One survey respondent said, “They take creativity from what you want to wear…”. Another said, “It doesn’t allow me to really express myself in my outfits.”

At Patterson high school the uniform is a black, blue, grey, or white t-shirt with the school logo on it and black or khaki pants. Also, each class has different colors: green and gold for the Class of 2025, maroon and gold for the Class of 2026, green and white for the Class of 2027, and red and white for the Class of 2028. Official class color T-shirts can be used as part of the school uniform.

Students get stopped at the entrance if they’re not wearing their uniforms. They get five chances before they can get detention for being out of uniform and the consequences depend on how many times they were caught without a uniform.

In conclusion, students have different opinions about uniforms. Based on what we have found out, we believe that uniforms might be effective in some ways such as preventing students from getting bullied for the way they dress and more but we think that students should have more options. Currently students are limited to khaki and black bottoms; we think that more colors should be added. The positive impacts that uniforms can have need to be carefully balanced against the negative impacts they can have on student self-expression and individual freedom.

Poster explaining school uniform policy
Class color T-shirts are an alternative to the standard uniform colors. (Photo: Snit Kahsay)
There are variations of the school uniform for students in certain programs and clubs, like this “Mentor” hoodie. (Photo: Snit Kahsay)

Kindness and communication can help prevent bullying

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Photo: Canva

by Daniela Acosta

Bullying has been a big issue in America for a long time now, involving children, teens, and even adults. Bullying can affect someone’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Bullying involves aggressive behavior physically or verbally.

With modern technology, bullying has increased and taken new forms. According to Panda Security, a cybersecurity company,  55% of students between the ages of 13 and 17 have experienced cyberbullying in their lifetime.

Bullying can put fear in people and cause them to not want to go to school, work or any social setting. Bullying not only impacts victims but also bystanders and bullies themselves.

Preventing bullying requires motivating efforts from individuals, schools, families and communities. The first step is understanding how to prevent bullying, what to do if you’re being bullied, and how to stop if you’re engaging in bullying behavior. With a better understanding of bullying, we can create a much more safe and secure environment for everyone. 

Encouraging kindness and respect is one way to prevent bullying. 

According to Patterson Health teacher Ms. Mahoney, “Bullying can seriously affect one’s mental health and can lead to suicide. You do not know what trauma you are causing to other students.” She suggests the best way to prevent bullying is to have conversations. Ms. Mahoney believes that the key to stopping bullying is “education, discussing, having conversations with teenagers, because sometimes, especially in this day and age with texting you don’t know what damage you are causing.” 

When children witness adults being judgmental, aggressive, and dismissive, they may mimic these actions in their interactions with peers. Additionally if parents or guardians don’t foster open communication or create a supportive home environment, children may feel unable to discuss bullying situations, allowing the issue to escalate. Parents can also unknowingly enable bullying by not setting clear expectations for kindness and empathy in their children’s behavior.

Adults, especially parents, play a huge role in preventing bullying by modeling respectful, compassionate and non-aggressive behavior towards one another. 

Spreading kindness and positivity can help prevent bullying. You never know what someone could be going through and spreading kindness could play a huge role in making our community a better and much safer place, whether online or in person.

Bentley Law holds drunk drivers accountable for child support

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By Dayana Herrera-Mateo

About 43% of car accidents involve drunk drivers in the United States. About 10,850 people have passed away every year because of drunk driving crashes. In Austin, Texas, a new law was made in which drunk drivers who have killed a parent or parents have to pay child support until the kids turn 18.

The law took effect on September 1, 2023. This law was made after a fiery car crash that killed Cordel, Lacy, and their four-month-old son, leaving behind Bentley and Mason under their grandparent’s care. Cecilia Williams, the grandmother of Bentley and Mason, and the mother of Cordell, said that kids of this circumstance no longer have parents and she wants people who cause that sort of pain to be held accountable. She believes they should pay child support for the consequences of their actions.

At the moment, four states have passed the law. Tennessee was the first to pass the law, along with Kentucky, Maine, and Texas. Cecilia Williams is hoping that by December of this year, all 50 states will have passed this law. She also hopes this law prevents people from driving drunk and helps the victims who are struggling. 

Teenage gun violence at its highest rate

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By Jennifer Iraheta-Delcid

Incidents of gun violence involving teenagers is rising in Baltimore. Teenagers are being injured and even killed in 2023 at a pace never seen before in at least a decade. On average, one victim is shot every two days and one is killed every week. The cause of the highly elevated rise in teenage brutality may be because of disagreements and rivalries.

This year, Baltimore City made a significant advancement in reducing overall violence by seizing 398 guns while seeing a 25% reduction in homicides and 27% in non-fatal shootings. Yet many Baltimore residents still have easy access to these guns, which is also a reason for this increase in gun violence among teens. High school-age teens continue to be shot in record numbers, with the year 2023 ending with 16 juvenile homicides and 94 non-fatal juvenile shooting victims. This generation of young people can’t resolve problems peacefully like talking it out. Most situations like this are victims younger than 19 years old. These conflicts can affect the well-being and mental health of many students, teachers, and parents by inducing fear and worry, and it’s devastating to the community.

“This makes me feel sad and worried at the same time because there is no security anymore… This affects me because I have a daughter in high school”, stated Joselyn Delcid. She added, “ I believe they should have more security like metal detectors and the state should remove the easy access to guns. I would feel more at peace with the security and well-being of my daughter and everyone in the school.”

Mayor Brandon Scott associates gun violence with the lack of responsibility and care of parents or even the way they raise their children. He is looking for ways to hold parents accountable. Scott is partnering with a program called “We Our Us“  in hopes of making progress through numerous small efforts that can add up to have a big impact. Scott also said he will be placing more mentors and specialists in Baltimore City schools to see if it makes an impact. The Mayor said the state and the country need stricter laws and a more efficient justice system to hold criminals accountable. Whether or not we will see a decrease in violence in the future is unclear, as teenage gun violence continues to be an unsolved problem.

Can new technology make our school safer? (OPINION)

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By Elijah DeBerry

In this article I will be writing about the safety of our students and our school building as a whole. 

Some concerns about safety at our school are the possibility of weapons being brought into the school building and those weapons being used on students and teachers present in the building at the current time. The school leaders are taking precautionary measures to ensure that the school is safer, such as implementing a new weapons detection system, which is mainly focused on detecting weapons rather than all metal objects like the old metal detectors did. 

In my personal opinion, I believe the weapons screening machines were functioning as intended. But recently they replaced the screeners with the old system: metal detectors. While I believe the screeners were temporary, as a sort of test, they worked great while they were implemented into the school’s security plan. I believe that the school should just stick to one thing, instead of switching back and forth. The screeners made entering the school quicker and possibly safer for students, whereas the metal detectors are too narrow for students to pass through easily. I say just stick with the screeners as they’re quicker and more convenient.

In conclusion to this article, I believe the leaders of Patterson High School, over the summer, should consider further implementing the weapon screenings system into the school to ensure that students are feeling safer with the screeners, rather than the metal detectors we originally have.

Weapons do not belong in school

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By Moses Jeuronlon

In school, one of the most important things next to education is the safety of the students, teachers, staff, and administrators. But how do they protect themselves? Should the teachers carry guns in school? Should the students carry guns as well?

Well, that sounds like a very reliable way for them to protect themselves. However, that solution has its own drawbacks, such as the misuse of the guns and the mayhem it could cause.

“Teachers would not know how to use the gun properly and if a gunman came in the school, they would panic and start shooting everywhere”, said Jacob Itner, a senior at Patterson High School.

We always hear the news about students shooting and killing people in their schools. If the students were prevented from bringing a gun to school in the first place none of that would have happened.

Not all students in schools are mature and responsible enough not to misuse the weapon they may have for self-defense. Some school shootings can result in people dying an unfair death. School should be a place where students should go and learn in peace and leave in peace. The safety of the students and staff should be taken into consideration by the school board to ensure they are learning in a safe environment.

 

Texting and driving kills

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By Dasia Whitfield

Texting and driving is becoming a bigger problem everyday. Texting and driving is a
problem because people are dying every day because of this issue. Phones are becoming a big distraction.

Mr. Casey, an EMT teacher at Patterson, knows about texting and driving because he has to deal with accidents. “It’s a huge problem. People that text and drive should get the
same treatment as people that drink and drive”, says Mr.Casey.

When you are driving, you should never pick up the phone, because no matter what it is, it can wait. Distracted driving causes 15% of injury crashes. Nearly 400,000 people were injured in distracted driving incidents in 2015. These statics come from Teen Safe, a website that helps parents keep their kids safe.

All generations are affected by texting and driving. “No age group specifically, but everybody is affected. Everybody wants to be kept up to date. People do not have patience”,  explains Mr.Casey.

This issue can be fixed if everybody stops picking up the phone when they get a message or to change the music. Everybody has to be considerate and think about others
before picking up the phone and also thinking about themselves and how many lives can be taken away by texting and driving.

Patterson joins rally at City Council for banning styrofoam

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(Photo: Ms. Hope)

(Photo: Ms. Hope)

By John Dingzon

Ms. Hope took at least two Patterson students with her to a rally at a meeting of the Baltimore City Council on March 9, 2017.  City Councilor Zeke Cohen and the committee urged the citizens of  Baltimore City to work with a group called B-more Beyond Plastics (BBP) to ban Styrofoam because Styrofoam has affected the community of Baltimore City over the course of the years. Many of the City Council, committee, and the citizens of Baltimore City rallied in Annapolis to support the efforts to ban Styrofoam in Annapolis. 1st district Councilman Zeke Cohen said, “Talk to your city district representative and they will also take this fight to the Annapolis.” This led to the Baltimore City Council signing a resolution to support the bill in Annapolis.

 
B-more Beyond Plastics is a youth led organization fighting to advance public health, environmental advocacy, and legislation to change the world. They have two current missions. The missions are to ban or tax plastic bags in Baltimore and ban Styrofoam in Maryland. A bill to ban Styrofoam was introduced in both the House of Delegates and State Senate this past session. B-more Beyond Plastics testified for both committees. Unfortunately, the bill was not passed. It has been suggested that BBP should gather more information to improve the bill.  

 
City Councilman 1st district Councilman Zeke Cohen was there along with City Councils and  representatives from several other districts. They participated in the rally and they wanted to urge and pass a bill on to the  Annapolis so they can banned Styrofoam. In his speech, Councilman Cohen said, “We will get this bill passed. If successful in Annapolis, then we will also pass it to other states too.” Cohen represents the district that Patterson High School is in. Students and teachers from a lot of other City schools also came to the rally to protest the use of Styrofoam.

Many of students and teachers wanted to banned Styrofoam because of how it has impacted the environment. Styrofoam harms the environment, and is also piling up in the streets and outside the school districts. Many people would want to use different materials instead of Styrofoam, such as plate metal, and glass plates.

 
There are 3 million tons of plastic produced every year. 2.3 million tons of that plastic end up in landfills. It takes 500 years for plastic to break down. Plastic that does not reach the landfill can be found littering our neighborhoods and watersheds. Plastic is lethal to marine organisms. 50% of sea turtles have ingested plastic. Also plastic contains toxins such as benzene and polystyrene that are harmful to humans. 

So what can we do? We can use biodegradable foam or plant based products when eating, shopping, shipping, and at home. That means instead of using styrofoam, use paper plates, paper bags at the market, paper board egg cartoons, etc., or better yet, use reusable bags and dishware that don’t need to be disposed of at all.

With files from Ms. Hope.

(Photos: Ms. Hope)
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