-Caveat Lector- `No student ever has the right to threaten another student,' says Blood. `We investigate every piece of information about a threat.' ***************************************************** Sorting fact from fiction: OHCHS deals with hit list' rumors C. A. Cousins OXFORD HILLS The power of the rumor at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School is just starting to be realized. In the midst of a barrage of rumors that are flying around the high school like Maine black flies in July, administrators, staff and students are trying to find the line between truth and rumors. The air in the high school drips with tension as every passing period brings a new version of a rumor among the students. They range from news of trivial happenings to events as serious as death threats and school-wide `rumbles.' These are not the typical `Who's dating who' rumors that one might expect out of a high school. In the wake of the smattering of violent outbursts at public schools and institutions across the country, Principal Phil Blood and other school administrators are taking every rumor they hear very seriously, but have thus far found no reason to associate them with truth. `If I thought the students were in danger, I'd cancel school,' says Blood decisively. `I don't feel that there's any substance behind the rumors.' `The rumor mill has been working overtime,' says Superintendent Mark Eastman. The incidents started two weeks ago when a student had an argument with another student and threatened to bring a gun into school. After an investigation, the student was issued a no trespassing on school property notice and is currently incarcerated at the Maine Youth Center. The student, according to Blood, will not be allowed back on school grounds. This is a rare instance of truth amid the rumors, Blood says. Last week, a student in a technical program found a gun in a car he was working on in one of the shops. The student notified the teacher and the gun was secured. No students from OHCHS were involved or charged in the incident. According to Blood, the rumor mill at the school created a false link between this incident and the aforementioned threat. The two events were completely separate and had nothing to do with each other, says Blood. According to Eastman, the teacher had recently returned from a camping trip and had left the gun in the car as a result of an oversight. Last week, rumors spread about a group of students who were being harassed to the point that they were talking about seeking revenge on another group of students. The administration met at great length with all the students involved to investigate the validity of the rumors. The students were suspended until the investigation was completed in order to insure everyone's safety, including the safety of those being investigated, according to a letter sent home with students to parents last Thursday. `No student ever has the right to threaten another student,' says Blood. `We investigate every piece of information about a threat.' As far as the administration can tell, this is where the line between fact and fiction lies. On several instances over the past week, rumors have run rampant. For example, many students thought that there would be some sort of battle at the end of the school day on Friday. There was none. Another rumor was spread that a group of students would seek revenge on members of the freshman football team at a game. When nothing happened there, more rumors flew that Tuesday was to bring a violent altercation in school. Although Blood took the precaution of asking for a police officer to be on-site Tuesday, again nothing happened. Eastman says that the police were on sight more for the peace of mind of the students than for intervention in a violent altercation. `The police were there more to make people feel secure that we had the situation under control,' says Eastman. In other precautions, access to the school is being strictly limited, says Blood, who added that police officers are in and out of the building on a regular basis, but not because of the rumors. In other efforts to slow the treacherous flow of rumors, administration and staff met on Thursday morning to discuss the incident and to get the facts out in the open. Teachers and students later took some time out of second period to talk about the issue. `We wanted to assure students that we knew about the rumors,' says Blood. `I feel that this school's as safe as it was three weeks ago.' Eastman calls the rumors `far fetched' and says that they are for the most part `complete fabrications.' He attributes the problem partly to the cultural change the United States has seen in the past few years, with violent outbursts happening in schools across the country. `That's in the back of our mind,' says Eastman. `Many of the students are nervous and scared,' says Blood. `But most of them are dealing with it pretty well.' He said that attendance was significantly low on Tuesday, and says the reason is because some kids are afraid to come to school. On Wednesday, though, attendance was back to normal. `I came to school. It was very quiet,' says Blood. Bubba Graham, a senior, says that the rumors are affecting him as a student quite a bit. `It makes me worry more because I don't know who they are,' he says, but continues to say that he feels like the school is pretty safe. `These rumors are no different than the others I've heard before,' says Graham. `They just go in one ear and out the other.' `We hear rumors go around every day. I'm not scared,' says Kelly Hallstrom, a freshman. `I don't believe they're true. Someone makes something up, then everyone knows it.' Hallstrom continued to say, however, that she knows people who are afraid to come to school as a result of the latest batch of rumors. Both students agree that while the rumor mill has always been there, it has gotten much worse recently. Eastman reminds people that it is critical to check information with an authority before they pass it on. `So much of this is passed along with absolutely no basis in fact,' he says. `It's just a matter of playing the rumors out,' says Blood, who again said, `If I didn't think school was safe, I'd cancel it.' --------------------------------------------------- Bard Visit me at: The Center for Exposing Corruption in the Federal Government http://www.xld.com/public/center/center.htm Federal Government defined: ....a benefit/subsidy protection racket! 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