Update 5:22 p.m.: A high school security officer was hospitalized and seven students were taken into custody after a disturbance this noon at Evanston Township High School.
A police wagon loaded with those taken into custody preparing to leave the high school.
Update 5:22 p.m.: A high school security officer was hospitalized and seven students were taken into custody after a disturbance this noon at Evanston Township High School.
Police Cmdr. Tom Guenther says the trouble began when two students got into a fight in a hallway during a break between classes.
Other students got involved in the dispute, Guenther says, and ETHS security officers called Evanston police to the scene to help in breaking up the disturbance.
Guenther says it appears that most of the students involved were freshmen at the school. He said the incident did not appear to be gang related.
He said police are still interviewing witnesses and the students involved and charges have not yet been filed in the incident.
The injured security officer was taken by ambulance to Evanston Hospital where he was treated and released.
Community Notice: Student
Community Notice: Student Incident that Occurred at ETHS
February 22, 2012
Dear ETHS school community:
At 11:49 am today, a fight occurred in a hallway between two ETHS students. Additional students became involved in the incident. The fight was quickly contained, and the Evanston Police Department responded to the scene.
Evanston police investigators working with ETHS Safety identified the alleged offenders. All students involved have been removed from the school by the police and have been suspended. Where appropriate, arrests were made and charges filed. The school will take disciplinary actions as warranted by district policies.
Incidents such as these, even as rarely as they occur, are taken seriously and are dealt with decisively. The safety of our students and staff is our first concern. After conducting interviews, it was determined that today's fight stemmed from an incident that occurred between the alleged offenders at a neighborhood event over the weekend. An ETHS Safety Officer injured his arm while responding to the incident, but no additional injuries were reported. At no time was there any additional threat to the safety of any other student or staff members.
This incident is now a police matter and all inquiries should be directed to the Evanston Police Department.
Evanston Township High School
This ETHS reply does not
This ETHS reply does not address the cause of this fight and once again applying martial tatics rather than addressing the causes or having/ requiring (the accused) students do community service or attend counciling only creates more resentments and does not heal the community
Thanks, ETHS, for taking a strong stand against fighting
I disagree. Fights break out way too often at ETHS, especially in or near the cafeterias. We only heard about this one because a security officer went to the hospital, and the cops were called in. It's high time the school took a firm stance that violence will not be tolerated within its walls. Counsel the perpetrators if you want, but they need to know their actions on school property will have consequences. The community needs to start teaching its children that we don't solve problems with trash talk and violence.
Cart before the horse
I believe you are either much more informed than the average Evanston Now reader (possible), or you are getting way, way ahead of the current situation.
The fight happened yesterday. No charges had been filed when this story was filed, nor when the announcement was made at school, nor when the email from the school was sent out. You are complaining about and criticizing a sentence prior to even a single hearing. To already be addressing the causes and/or requiring students to fulfill some sort of restitution/remediation without due process seems absolutely unjust to all involved – students, staff, and institution.
Thank you ETHS Security Officers
First, thank you to all the ETHS security officers. They have a difficult and dangerous job. Walking into a large group of angry, fighting high school students to keep everyone safe – that is a courageous thing to do. Going into the high school I have seen four or five students hanging out with the security guard on duty. The officers go out of their way to develop personal relationships with the students. The officers are calm and courteous every time I have seen them in the halls.
ETHS freshman have been in school from Kindergarten through Eighth grade. These same students have learned how to read, write, do Algebra, and sit still in class. They are perfectly capable of learning to not fight in school. Dist. 65 stresses Respect and does not tolerate fighting.
We are getting them ready for their first job – if you fight on the job you get fired. If after all the counseling, notes home, ODRs, and instruction throughout grade school a student still has not learned to not fight at school, then that student deserves the consequences of his/her actions.
A large group of fighting students beat 16-year-old Derrion Albert to death on the way home from school in Chicago in 2009 . Remember that? ETHS security officers handle minor fights every day my child says. A large group of students fighting inside school could seriously hurt someone. This is a serious, dangerous occurence. Students need to learn to exercise self control and take responsiblity.
If the ETHS security officers called in the police, then I trust their professional judgement and that is what needed to be done.
Everyone – students, teachers, and staff – needs to feel safe at ETHS.