Student: Daily Fights at Lincoln High School Have Created Atmosphere of Fear

A school touted just weeks ago by the San Diego Unified School District is now described by some as an atmosphere of fear and fights.

10News has learned in the past two weeks, two separate incidents at Lincoln High School have led to arrests on campus, and one may have involved a butcher knife.

“They’re actually happening every day,” said Jessica, a sophomore who did not want her identity revealed, referring to fights.

She says the fights mostly occur during lunch and after school, often between African-American and Hispanic students. It has gotten so bad, she says her friends do not like to walk the halls.

“They’re scared that whenever they walk down the hall, they’re going to get jumped by several people,” said Jessica.

In the last two weeks, the tension has turned ugly. On Sept. 19, a fight led to the arrest of one student, and another student was taken by ambulance for a bloody nose. The school district says the fight was over a skateboard. This past Tuesday, a student was attacked by another in a bathroom.

Frank Engle has been writing about the incidents on his education blog.

“My contacts tell me the bathroom attack . . . involved a butcher knife. The student was able to defend himself but received slashes on his hands and arms,” said Engle.

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“I feel bad because whenever I go to school, there’s just fights going on instead of people going to class,” said Jessica.

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A representative for the school district says the school has added extra security and more hallway monitoring by teachers.

The school has also reached out to parents as they plan large assemblies and small group sessions on bullying, school behavior and conflict resolution.

[Editor’s Note: The student body at Lincoln High School is 67 percent Hispanic, 21 percent black, 6 percent Asian, and 1 percent white.]