Shouting erupts from crowds throughout the hallway. School police rush to the area as the students are directed away from the scene. The crowd covers the incident until the distinct odor of pepper spray fills the hall, repelling them from the area.
During my transition from middle school to the high school campus, I underwent many new changes in my home and school life. With this came the bearing of new experiences, one of which became witnessing fights here on campus. Violence, be it verbal or physical, has been an undeniable issue on both high school and middle school campuses for a while now.
The root of the fighting does not boil down onto the school’s hands, but rather the students; however, that doesn’t excuse the school’s responsibility for the disciplinary precautions used to de-escalate the situation, cease the incident and ensure the safety of everyone else.
Using pepper spray to break up fights isn’t unheard of here on campus. My personal experiences with this norm have been dreadful, to say the least.
The usual encounter would start with a fight breaking out during either a transition period or at the end of the school day. If I’m aware of a fight close by, I usually try to steer clear of the area and go around. However, there have been instances where I was unaware of the incident, resulting in me walking into the malodor of pepper spray in the hall. At this point, it’s typically hard to breathe and results in a terrible cough.
I understand that the purpose of using pepper spray is to make it easier for school personnel to stop the altercation; however, this method is both reckless and dangerous to bystanders, such as myself, and in theoretical cases, an innocent individual.
According to Mount Sinai’s online health library, pepper spray, which is classified as a chemical weapon, is especially hazardous to those with asthma, COPD, or any other lung-affecting condition. With that in mind, it’s equally important to point out that pepper spray can cause severe damage to those it comes in contact with, some of which include loss of consciousness, inability to breathe properly, chest pain and temporary blindness.
Moreover, regardless of whether or not this is excessive for those involved in the fight, it’s important to consider the bystanders. Those who are not involved in the conflict but are simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time. People such as myself have innocently suffered the effects of pepper spray on numerous occasions.
More importantly, what about those involved in the incident? After all, they’re the ones receiving the full effects of this weapon. Fortunately, there are safer alternatives to pepper spray, such as pepper gel. Unlike pepper spray, pepper gel is not only more accurate and controlled but its full effects are only revealed when removed, making it considerably safer, according to the Guardian Self-Defense blog.
Granted, sometimes bystander injuries are simply inevitable, but that doesn’t mean that schools shouldn’t put forth an effort to minimize it. Fights make school unsafe as is, but adding fuel to the fire with pepper spray is not the solution.
