THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 25, 1994 TAG: 9410250291
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Violence at a football game Friday night prompted Bayside High School's principal to cancel the annual post-game homecoming dance.
Principal Michael J. Debranski said he called off the dance after a fight broke out among some young people who were leaving school grounds during the waning seconds of the game.
Three young people were involved in the fight, Debranski said. One was taken to Sentara Bayside Hospital, treated and released. He had been thrown to the ground during the fight, Debranski said.
Debranski said he believed none of the kids involved was a student at Bayside High, although their identities have not been verified.
No weapons were involved in the fight, Debranski and police spokesman Lou Thurston said.
In an apparently unrelated incident, a security officer at the game reported hearing a couple of shots fired, Thurston said. But school officials at the game said they never heard the shots.
Debranski said he did not know how or why the fight started, but he called off the dance as a precaution to ensure that there would be no other trouble later.
``That was the hardest thing, not knowing what happened and who was involved,'' he said.
``We were concerned for the safety of our students. I never put an event on unless I can guarantee the safety of the students.''
On Monday, Debranski sent a memo to students and parents explaining what had happened and his decision to call off the dance.
Some students said they were more curious about the fight than disappointed that the dance was canceled. The annual dance at Bayside is a casual affair. Most of the festivities occur during halftime, when the homecoming queen and court are paraded around the field.
Tickets to the dance initially were $3. But students said the price dropped to $2 in an attempt to generate more interest. Students who bought tickets will receive refunds.
``I wasn't planning on going'' to the dance, said Arthur A. Ebbs, 16, a junior. ``I was disappointed in the fact that something like that would happen at our school. I was disappointed in the fact that the students who did it were not from our school, and that they would disrespect our school.
``Our school has a hard enough time, because we've developed somewhat of a reputation. And people like that come and only make it worse.''
Michael D. Maraghy, 17, a senior, said students did not seem to be concerned about school safety as a result of the fight.
``Fear wasn't an issue, as far as I could see,'' he said. ``People were more interested in finding out what happened.''
KEYWORDS: BAYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
by CNB