An Instagram account called Whartonfghts2018 has more than 1,500 posts, and 24 posts since December. All of the posts are videos and images related to fights at Wharton High School. The latest incident happened Friday at the bus ramp.
“It’s become the norm for a school day and I don’t think that’s a great thing.” Kim Morse, who has a 15-year-old daughter at the school, said.
“It just seems like it doesn’t phase her any more (to see a fight) and that concerns me too. We do have conversations about that.” Morse added.
While Hillsborough County School officials acknowledge a fighting problem, they say there is improvement.
There have been 22 fights on campus at Wharton this school year. Last year there were 29.
“83% of the students have had no discipline issues this school year. And we’re talking about small things like skipping school all the way up to fighting.” Tanya Arja, district spokesperson, said.
Arja says the majority of the fights stem from off-campus disputes.
“(The Instagram page) paints the school in a bad light and that’s what we want parents out there to know, that these are not necessarily school issues.” Arja said.
Arja says the school has taken steps to educate students about good character and being productive citizens by initiating a new behavior policy they call the “Wildcat Way.”
