Gang fighting continues at Fenger High School weeks after Honor Roll Student Derrion Albert was beaten to death.
Political Swagger's Tonja Styles interviews Cassandra Robinson, the parent of two Fenger High School students, after a fight broke out in the school's lunchroom Thursday afternoon. Five students were arrested, four charged with reckless conduct and one charged with aggravated assault after alledgedly threatening a teacher. Robinson, who is part of a coalition for "Safe Passage" for Fenger students who live in Altgeld Gardens, says things are getting worse.
Here is graphic video footage of Chicago Public School Student Derrion Albert being beaten to death. This is the hard lesson some students at Fenger High School have to deal with after a day of learning. For them it's a hard lesson of reality on the streets.
5 Arrested in Fenger High School Brawl
Thursday five teenage boys were arrested for beating on each other and threatening a teacher at Fenger High School.
Parents at Fenger have been given the option of transferring to Carver Military Academy, but all over the city parents are trying to move their kids out of harms way.
“I'm gonna do anything necessary to save their lives,” Robert Owens said.
Owens' son Marques transferred to Calumet Charter School this year to escape violence at a neighborhood school, but he was badly beaten Tuesday.
His nose was broken after one kid sucker punched him and more piled on.
10 calumet students were arrested and charged with aggravated battery.
Traci Wallace said she transferred her kids to Calumet Charter School because she wanted something better.
Recent numbers show about one out of every five Chicago students change schools during a given year. Some of them because the family moved, others because they were granted what CPS calls a “Safety Transfer.”
But how practical is transferring a student?
“You have to weigh that decision very carefully,” said Chicago Public Schools spokesperson, Monique Bond. “You really want to make sure you don't disrupt a student's education process.”
But that leaves a lot of good students feeling like they've got to keep moving to stay ahead of the violence.
Eric Walton was one of those students. He was beaten up at Bogan High School.
CPS granted Walton a safety transfer to Hancock.
Walton transferred to Bogan on Monday.
How are things going?
“I feel safe now” added Walton.
Police arrest 5 in rash of Fenger fights
Police responded Thursday morning to a disturbance at Fenger High School -- one of at least 12 fights at the school Thursday, 10 of them in the lunchroom alone.
There were no reports of injuries, but police said they charged four students with reckless conduct and one with aggravated assault.
Officers were called to the school, 11220 S. Wallace Ave., about 11:25 a.m. to respond to a disturbance in the lunchroom, police said.
A witness said there were at least 10 fights in the cafeteria, and at least two others in other parts of the school.
There were four fights during the sophomore students' lunch period and three during the juniors' lunch period, the witness said. Juniors were held at their lunch period for at least double their usual time because of a fight in another part of the school, according to the witness.
Chicago Public Schools officials had no comment.
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Sources: Chicago Tribune, My Fox Chicago, MSNBC, CBS News, Flickr, Youtube, Google Maps
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