|
Friday's Internet Edition, November 21, 2008.
He said … she said … they reacted
Rumors of gang violence lead to 800 leaving GHS early on Friday
|
|
Galt Police arrived at the Galt High School campus on Friday, ready to provide extra security in light of rumors of gang violence.
|
By Rachael Ackerman
Herald Editor
-
Not a week after rumors of gang violence led to 400 Tokay High School students staying home from school in Lodi, similar rumors caused the parents of nearly 800 Galt High School students to check their kids out of school early on Friday.
Fueled by rumors that a fight between a white athlete and a student gang member on campus on Monday of last week might escalate into a full-scale gang riot at second lunch on Friday, students began calling parents from cell phones around 10 a.m. on Friday, saying they were afraid and wanted to go home, said district superintendent Tom Gemma.
According to Gemma, after an exhaustive investigation into a variety of rumors as they developed, the district determined there was no reason for valid concern.
“As the week progressed, more rumors were picked up on and were investigated. Every lead by students and adults was followed up on,” said Gemma. “No fire arms were found, and any witness reports were found to be false.”
Gemma said all safety protocols were followed on campus Friday, including calling in the Galt Police Department for additional campus security.
“We had alerted the police department, and the chief assisted with his officers to further investigate the rumors and provide campus safety,” said Gemma. “As there was no credibility of threat determined through the rumors, we did not go to lockdown for the campus, and we relieved parent concerns through an orderly process of taking students out of school as the day continued.”
Parents began arriving at GHS just past 10 a.m., and by 11 a.m., the administrative parking lot and Lincoln Way were a traffic jam of concerned parents who were seeking answers.
“Our kids are not replaceable, and we can’t take the chance and just wait and see if something happens,” said concerned GHS parent Sherri Agans. “Even if it is just rumors, we can’t take the chance.”
For parent Barbara Obenshain, who received a phone call from a friend, having concerns about her son’s safety on campus was just the first problem.
“We didn’t know what to do,” said Obenshain. “We didn’t know if we were supposed to wait to hear from the school, or what to do about our kids if there really was a problem. I didn’t think rushing to the school would be the best thing to do, but I didn’t have any other information to go on.”
Spurred on by subsequent rumors that there had been a gang-related shooting at Longs in Galt on Friday morning, the students at GHS turned to the cyber universe to reach out and share their fears with parents.
“By Thursday night, students were networking via MySpace and on cell phones regarding what they thought was possible retribution for the fight on Monday,” said Galt Police Chief Loren Cattolico. “By Friday, the rumors had taken on a life of their own, and students began calling parents from cell phones, saying violence was imminent and that they wanted to go home.”
According to Cattolico, rumors parents reported being told included anything from a possible gunfight at lunch, arrests on campus, shootings off campus, seizure of guns on campus, and non-students planning to come to campus and assault students.
“Some students told their parents they had seen a weapon,” said Cattolico. “School officials diligently tracked these leads down only to repeatedly find that the student denied saying they had actually seen a weapon, only that they had heard someone might have one.”
Saying it is always better to err on the side of caution, Cattolico, who confirmed that there were no arrests made, no weapons seized at GHS on Friday, and no shooting at Longs, issued the order for his department to still take every lead seriously.
“The police did not have any specific credible threat that anything was going to happen,” said Cattolico. “But there is always the possibility that rumors have some factual basis, so we erred on the side of providing a high level of visibility so that the students, staff and parents would feel safe.”
In terms of taking their kids out of school, Cattolico said in a day and age where there is total connectivity at all times, and in all places through the Internet and cell phones, parents had little time to wait for credible information before being faced with making a decision they believed was in the best interest of their children, and the school had little time to get the information to them.
“I feel that each parent has the right to evaluate their child’s safety and decide whether the child should remain at school or go home,” said Cattolico. “I also believe that parents may need to ask more clarifying questions when their child calls with this type of information.”
Cattolico suggests that parents ask for specifics, details of when, where, who and what they actually saw, and to make a few phone calls of their own.
“I would call the police or the school to report what information I had found out from my child and to get more information from them,” said Cattolico.
In light of the potential for full-scale chaos, both Gemma and Cattolico commended the staff at GHS for how they handled students and parents at such a critical time.
“I was very proud of the staff, faculty and especially our site administration for their calm, professional manner in dealing with this situation,” said Gemma. “I am hoping the parents will come together with school personnel to go over the procedures and communication protocols to insure the safety of their students.”
According to Gemma, student attendance was back to normal on Monday morning.
The Galt Joint Union High School District will hold a community meeting on Wednesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in the Galt High School auditorium to discuss emergency procedures and parent concerns.
|
|