Parents blamed school officials Monday for failing to prevent a fight that erupted after a football game between Baltimore City College and Polytechnic Institute and ended with the arrests of28 girls.
The Saturday brawl in the M&T Stadium parking lot followed the 119th game between the two schools ? one of the country?s oldest rivalries ? and sent one girl to Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore City police said.
“This brings shame to both schools,” said Barney Wilson, Poly?s principal. “The game is certainly a cherished event and means a whole lot to students, alumni and the community, and there is no room for this type of thing to happen at the game.”
Many parents and students remained frustrated that school officials failed to quell a monthslong dispute between female students that intensified on social networking site MySpace.
Now they are all asking questions and, in some cases, pointing fingers. “They knew this was going on; they?ve known about this for at least four months,” said one parent who did not want to be identified, as she waited to pick up her daughter from the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center.
Poly?s Wilson said he had known about an ongoing dispute between girls from the two schools.
The fight occurred just after the game ended as students from several high schools left the stadium, police said. One girl, a sophomore at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical Senior High School, said her attackers got away.
“We were getting into our car and they jumped us and starting hitting us and pushing us,” she said. “But the girls who attacked us got away, and they arrested us.”
All but one of the girls was released without being charged. An alleged attacker who threw a punch that caused an eye injury will be charged with second-degree assault, and the hospitalized girl was treated and released, police said.
Police plan to review video from the stadium?s cameras.
Join the discussion and take our poll in today’s examiNation Baltimore: How should school officials deal with students arrested for fighting?
