Fariña: Bx. Sci boss on it
SCHOOLS Chancellor Carmen Fariña said students involved in a “fight club” at Bronx High School of Science are being held responsible for bullying and brawling at the prestigious academy.
Though organized fights had been going on for more than a year, only one person, student Wataru Takada, a junior, faces any discipline — and that was because he was arrested after allegedly threatening the Daily News reporter who exposed the underground club.
Fariña, in remarks to The News Tuesday night, did not specifically say what repercussions any adults, including Principal Jean Donahue, might face.
Donahue is being investigated for her handling of the fight club. She reported it to police in May but took no disciplinary steps against students who were duking it out in a field across the street from the school and who were chatting about it on Facebook.
“This was an issue that was reported,” Fariña said. “We took it seriously; the principal is holding everybody accountable. When you report something, we have protocols we follow, and that is what we do. So the reality is, it’s reported.
“Parents were spoken to, kids were spoken to. They were held accountable to the degree that we are entitled to do by law,” she said. “So we did it. We took it seriously and that’s the story.”
The reporter who broke the story, Ben Chapman, has received hundreds of threatening phone calls and text messages. He urged officials to punish the adults involved instead of students like Takada.