Fight leads to suspensions

A fight involving at least six students occurred at CVHS on March 12. According to witnesses, two students had a confrontation and began a fight in the Student Union. More students began fighting and the fight grew to include about six students, reportedly all girls.

“I usually hear about fights, but actually seeing it before and seeing it spew out, I was actually scared. I was worried about Mrs. Valles,” said junior Alex Esparza.

The fight began, Esparza recalled, when one of the girls looked at another. “What are you looking at?” she reportedly said.

“Then they gave each other a look,” Esparza said. “Then they ran at each other. Another girl jumped in with Mrs. Valles in the middle.”

According to witnesses, one of the girls struck Principal Mary Ann Valles.

As the fight continued, a crowd of students gathered around yelling, pushing and taking pictures and video. “A sea of people came in. A gazillion phones were out taking pictures,” Esparza said.

Administration, other staff and two sheriff’s officers intervened to stop the fighting. In that effort, one of the officers tackled a girl and pinned her to the ground.

According to Deputy Travis Brannon, a CVHS school resource officer, six students were involved in the fight and an additional four students helped to stop it.

Deputy Brannon explained that videos taken by students are being used to corroborate the students’ testimonies, and there will be arrests.

“There were six girls total. All six were suspended,” the deputy said.

“Nearby staff members responded quickly to the fight and did their best to stop it,” said Valles. “It was a full response. All the appropriate staff members responded including some PE teachers who came with whistles,” Valles said.

Fights are not common at CVHS. This fight was unusual in that there were a large number of students fighting and a staff member was struck.

“This rarely happens at our school, which is something we are proud of,” Valles said. “It is a testament to the staff’s and students’ abilities to resolve conflicts before they escalate.”

The school and district take fighting seriously and work to prevent violence.

“This is not what we come to school for. I want all students to feel safe. No one should feel on guard at school,” said Valles.