How would you do to stop student brawls?<\/p>\n
Monique Natalia, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In some parts of Jakarta, stones flying and kids running
\naround waving machetes and knives are not unusual sights. This is
\nhow bad student brawls have become. Six mall-goers try to find a
\nsolution to this seemingly never-ending problem.<\/p>\n
Anggi, 16, South Jakarta: I've never actually been involved in
\na student brawl, but I have often seen students, especially high
\nschool students, fighting with each other, particularly around
\nthe Lebak Bulus area. Fortunately, kids from my school never get
\ninvolved in student brawls.<\/p>\n
I think what people need to do to stop student brawls is to
\ntry and make more friends outside of their own schools. Most kids
\nonly hang out with kids from their own school. When they go out
\nand meet kids wearing a different school uniform who so much as
\nlook at them funny, they get really annoyed and some even start
\ncalling each other names, and they usually end up getting in a
\nfight. So, I think it would be better if kids tried to hang out
\nwith kids from different schools.<\/p>\n
By doing that, they would know that there are some people out
\nthere who are nice too, not just people from their own school.
\nThe good thing is that when they become good friends with people
\nfrom a different school, they wouldn't want to do them any harm,
\nright? So they would try to stop a brawl, if one did break out
\nbetween their school and their friend's school.<\/p>\n
Another thing that parents could do to stop student brawls is
\ntake their kids to see victims of student brawls. You know, just
\ntake them to the hospital where the victims are and just let them
\nsee with their own eyes how bad the consequences are of getting
\ninto a fight.<\/p>\n
Also, they should encourage their kids to be more religious
\nand get closer to God. They have to realize that it is a sin to
\nhurt other people, even if you do hate them.<\/p>\n
Intan, 17, South Jakarta: My driver often has to get his son
\nout of jail because of his involvement in student brawls.
\nSometimes he also gets caught carrying sharp objects, like
\nmachetes and what have you.<\/p>\n
Another kid that lives just across the street from me got
\nbeaten up once by kids from another school. I don't know why, but
\nI just know that it is not right to beat up someone just because
\nyou have a grudge against them. It is also no use getting
\ninvolved in student brawls.<\/p>\n
I think one thing that can be done to stop student brawls is
\nto hold some kind of a gathering of different schools, you know,
\nlike a friendship gathering or an event with a central theme of
\npeace. It could consist of music, art shows, dance, just
\nsomething fun so they forget about their rivalry.<\/p>\n
Schools should also give lectures and training about how to
\ncontrol their emotions. By learning how to control their
\nemotions, they could also learn how to avoid getting into a
\nfight. The government should also implement a policy that gives
\nharsher punishment to kids involved in student brawls.<\/p>\n
Now, when kids get caught in a student brawl, they only have
\nto go to the police station, call their parents and have the
\nparents pick them up, without spending even one night in jail. I
\nthink they also should be put in special rehab centers. I think
\nthe government should take this problem more seriously, because
\nthe consequences can be very bad.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it even victimizes people who aren't even involved
\nin a brawl. Like one of my relatives, for example. One day he was
\nslashed with a machete by kids from a rival school just because
\nhe was wearing the uniform of his school. I just wish that all
\nthese student brawls would stop, because it's hurting innocent
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Bintang, 18, South Jakarta: I don't really know any victims of
\nstudent brawls, but I have seen student brawls either on TV or on
\nthe street. It is really scary. Before I went out today, I saw on
\nthe news that there had been a student brawl. I think some people
\ndied as a result. It's just so sad.<\/p>\n
I think sometimes people not involved in brawls also get hurt.
\nAll the brawls are pointless. They are no use to anyone and only
\nhurt people, so I really think something has to be done to stop
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Another bad thing that comes out of all these student brawls
\nis that people become more suspicious of students in uniforms.
\nLike what I saw on TV just now, there was this guy who was just
\ncarrying a stack of books walking along and suddenly he got
\nbusted.<\/p>\n
And for what? It turned out that the cops saw that he was
\nwearing a belt and thought that it could have been used as a
\nweapon. I mean, he was wearing glasses, for God's sake! So now
\npeople see kids wearing school uniforms and they think we're
\ncriminals. It is so unfair!<\/p>\n
I think the only way to stop the brawls would have to come
\nfrom the person's own conscience. They have to realize that
\nstudent brawls are a bad thing and that they need to be stopped.
\nEven if they go to rehab centers and what have you makes no
\ndifference if they do not believe it themselves. It has to come
\nfrom the inside.<\/p>\n
That's not to say that what the government is doing, like
\nbusting people carrying weapons and objects that can be used in
\nfights, does not work. I guess it works up to a point. At least
\nif there were more weapon searches by the police, people would be
\nafraid to carry weapons, so it could prevent them from hurting
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Deta, 14, South Jakarta: When I went to Bakti Mulya school,
\nevery Friday and Saturday I used to exit the school gate to see
\nstudents from another school fighting in front of our school.
\nFortunately my school did not get involved, but nevertheless it
\nwas pretty scary. I used to wonder what really made those guys so
\nangry at each other.<\/p>\n
What if an innocent person gets hurt?<\/p>\n
I have also seen students chasing a bus with stones and knives
\nand whatever they could get their hands on because students from
\na rival school were on the bus. It was really scary. I just hope
\nthat no one got hurt.<\/p>\n
I think the only way to stop student brawls is to get those
\nkids who are always involved in brawls together, and give them an
\nunderstanding about the dangers and consequences of student
\nbrawls. You know, how they can hurt innocent people and stuff.
\nFrom what I know, student brawls usually start from name calling,
\nso I think these kids need to be told that all schools are the
\nsame so that they stop calling other schools bad names just for
\nthe heck of it.<\/p>\n
Another thing that could be done by the government is to beef
\nup security in areas where there is a tendency for student
\nbrawls. They should have more cops patrolling those areas. Not
\nonly to break up the brawls but to prevent them from happening.
\nBecause just telling the kids what they should and should not do
\nwon't work without the help of the authorities.<\/p>\n
Michael, 14, South Jakarta: Once I was in my car on my way
\nsomewhere and suddenly there were people throwing stones at other
\npeople, and not long after that I saw kids running with machetes
\nand knives. I was in the car so it wasn't really that dangerous,
\nbut it was pretty scary. I just felt that the whole thing was so
\nweird, I mean what were they doing all that for?<\/p>\n
Once I saw a stone hit a window of a passerby's car, but he
\nwas scared so he just drove away.<\/p>\n
I think most brawls happen because of jealousy and also
\nmisunderstanding. But it shouldn't happen. We are all alike, why
\ndo we have to fight?<\/p>\n
I think to stop all the brawling, first we need to find the
\nsource of the problem of every brawl. You know, what really makes
\nthem fight.<\/p>\n
I know that it would be hard, but there are schools that are
\nnotorious for brawls. We could start from those schools. You
\nknow, get the rival schools together and get them to discuss
\ntheir problems and help them find a solution to their problems.<\/p>\n
I just think it would be better to get them to talk about
\ntheir problems and solve them in a friendly discussion, or
\nanything that didn't involve violence.<\/p>\n
But if we cannot stop them, the government should provide
\ntighter security so the brawls do not hurt innocent people.<\/p>\n
Danang, 17, Central Jakarta: I think the biggest problem we
\nhave concerning student brawls is the problem of uniforms. Here
\neverybody has to wear a uniform. The main idea is good, which is
\nto narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, but all these
\ndifferent uniforms give away school identities.<\/p>\n
I know that there are schools that have been rivals since who
\nknows when, and for these schools it doesn't take a real problem
\nto ignite a fight. All it takes is just one look at the rival
\nschool uniform and they are at it. I know someone who got beaten
\nup just because he was in school uniform walking by the wrong
\nplace at the wrong time.<\/p>\n
That's why I think we should be given the right to wear
\nwhatever we want and definitely no uniforms. Without uniforms,
\nschool identities wouldn't seem as strong and people would not be
\nrecognized and judged by which school they go to.<\/p>\n
If that's not possible, I guess uniforms are OK too. But
\nuniforms should be the same for everyone, with no difference
\nwhatsoever, including badges. You know, how even though all high
\nschool uniforms are blue and gray but each school makes the
\nstudents wear badges with the name and location of the school.<\/p>\n
And maybe, if the government has enough money, metal detectors
\ncould be installed in schools, like what we see on TV (at U.S.
\nschools), so that kids cannot go to school carrying weapons.<\/p>",
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