Wild and out of control.
That's the way some families describe a video sent to NBC Bay Area showing recent student fights at Westmont High School in Campbell. The families reached out to raise concerns about the alarming number of fights on campus, with one parent reporting there were six fights in a single day.
The violence on campus to an outsider seems unlikely since the school gets high marks from greatschools.org, generally showing students get high test scores and are far above the state average in college and career readiness. But some families claim there is another side and said fights have become more common -- several this week alone -- and that the violence is escalating.
San Jose police, which has jurisdiction in the area, said it responded to a fight involving several individuals, but that no knife or other weapon was involved. Police said they are still investigating and kept a presence around the campus on Friday.
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Some families said they want the school or district to analyze why fights are happening apparently so often.
In response to some of the posts showing the fights, quite a few people commented the fights are instigated in a way so friends or other students can capture them to use on social media and described the ones fighting as a very small percentage.
The Campbell Union High School District provided the following statement on Friday:
"The Campbell Union High School District places a high level of importance on addressing student conflicts and has consistently prioritized maintaining a strong adult presence throughout our campuses to prevent these conflicts from escalating.
Understanding that even a single physical altercation between students is unacceptable, we are fully committed to collaborating with our parent community. Together, we aim to offer comprehensive support to students, both within the home environment and on our school grounds.
Through this collective effort, we aspire to equip our students with essential life skills, particularly the ability to resolve conflicts through effective communication."
