Every single fight at our school causes a major overreaction. This reaction is highly unnecessary, and immature in my eyes. Fights occur infrequently at AHS, so people do not know how to react to them. Although fights are unusual here, our current reaction is unsettling-  the current frenzied rush toward every disturbance is not a healthy response.

Fighting can be a legitimate form of entertainment- boxing and wrestling are sports for a reason- but this response is completely unneeded. The fights themselves are not at all entertaining: there is no mortal danger, monetary gain, or peer pressure to encourage observers. Simply watching a fight accomplishes nothing at all, and simply causes problems for the rest of the school.

All can agree that our school is extremely crowded: the defining feature of our city is that, despite our population, there is a single high school. This crowding is the worst in the morning and during lunch, as most of the school is funneled into a single area. Fighting simply compounds this problem, causing people to form a giant mob around the “battle.” This makes travel for anyone in the hallway impossible, and generally makes getting around difficult.

Fighting also reinforces the violent nature of our modern society. As a former gamer (it became very unhealthy), I can testify that video games are extremely prevalent and can be extremely violent. Other forms of entertainment can be just as violent, although they are not the main issue nowadays. Fights at Allen are not extremely common, but also serve to influence the way we think. If you personally witness fights repeatedly, it is much easier to become violent yourself. In a world where violence can get quickly out of hand, any extra danger should be avoided.

Fights should not be encouraged so readily. When a cloud of observers flock to every fight, they unconsciously endorse further fighting. The only true impact that observing a fight has, outside of some minor enjoyment, is causing the fight to last longer. Even if there is no repeated chanting of “fight,” the people fighting feel some solidarity from observers, and thus have no reason to stop fighting.  

It is not that difficult to ignore a fight. We overlook our own friends to stare at our phones, but cannot wait to throw the phones down to witness a fight. The simple solution to the problem of fighting is to ignore it. Fighting is very easy, at least when everyone around you supports it. I am sure that very few people would get into a major fight, if they were not supported by their fellow students.

In the end, any fight is just a fight; you can live without watching people punch each other.