A string of several troubling events during the week of Feb. 12 caused students at this school to question the administration’s response. For example, Principal Tom Harmas released several different announcements throughout the week, which were often met with harsh criticism, either verbally or online, from students and parents. That being said, students and community members should temper their criticisms, as February presented a number of unique circumstances. However, we also urge administrators to evaluate their response and continue to find ways to appropriately revise their policies to prepare for future events in order to keep students both safe and well-informed.

Many students said Harmas undermined their concern for safety with some aspects of his recorded speech, including his emphasis on the short duration of fights on Feb. 13—only “3.5 seconds,” before administrative interference. However, students should consider Harmas was not only addressing the student body at CHS, but also parents, administrators and outside groups. Harmas was not diminishing students’ concerns, but rather attempting to reassure them of their safety.
To be fair, administration was dealing with many pressing issues at the time—the fights, as well as earlier issues regarding a student accosting a girl with a knife and rumors of possible school shootings. Administrators had to mitigate many concerns from students, parents and hundreds of anonymous alerts. Keeping the week’s events in mind, the decision to discuss the length of the altercations, while not the ideal method, should be given the benefit of the doubt.

Throughout the week, many students also compared Harmas with his predecessor, former principal John Williams, claiming Williams could have done a better job in this situation. However, it’s unfair to compare a principal who had worked closely with CHS students for more than a decade to one who is in his first year on the job here. Instead of focusing on the past, we should applaud Harmas for his hard work.

Students should also remember administrators were remarkably transparent about the events that occurred, providing more specific details than were provided in past similar situations. This transparency was designed not to undermine student concerns, but to prevent further rumors from spreading.

Though people overreacted to the administration’s handling of the situation, we agree administrators could work to improve their message, especially the ones directed to the students. It is difficult to address such a large issue for such a large audience, but administration should have been more mindful of the heightened fear and emotional strain students experienced during that time. We hope administration will use this as a learning experience and will continue to assess their performance and to amend their policies moving forward. Overall, however, we are appreciative of the entire administration’s efforts throughout a stressful time.