Sporadic fights between attendees of a Columbus High School football game have prompted school officials to issue new policies restricting attendance and behavior.
Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen characterized the incidents during the Aug. 17 home game between CHS and Aberdeen High School as “a couple of skirmishes, two or three different little ruckuses.”
He said several girls were caught pushing and shoving, and two juveniles were arrested for misdemeanors, though he didn’t know their charges. CPD regularly staffs the games. Columbus Municipal School District Police Chief Jimmy Bonner said he, also, is at every game, along with three school resource officers.
Last week, McQueen and Bonner met with Columbus Municipal School Superintendent Dr. Martha Liddell and school staff, and they walked around Falcon Stadium, brainstorming ways to improve safety, from increased lighting at the bathrooms, concession stands and entrance gates to better ways for security officers to monitor the crowd.
A number of new guidelines, effective immediately, have also been established, including rules that limit attendance and restrict fans’ behavior.
Students who have been suspended or attend the CMSD Alternative School will not be allowed to enter the stadium. The district will issue a list of these students, along with their photographs, to ticket-takers at the gates before the game so they can identify them if they try to enter, Bonner said.
Fans and students who leave the stadium during the game will be required to pay again to re-enter. Troublemakers will be removed from the stadium and banned for the remainder of the season. Parents, if on the premises, will be asked to escort the students out. Parents who are not present will be notified.
There will also be special seating areas set aside for students and monitored by staff, and fans will be required to remain in the stands. “Free wandering” during the games will not be permitted.
Bonner said he plans to enforce the “no wandering” rule by noting students in areas they wouldn’t normally belong, such as males hanging around the girls’ restrooms or people who do not have snacks from the concession stands and are not in line to purchase anything.
He emphasized the games are safe, and there has never been a serious incident at a CHS football game. The new rules, he said are just to add a little additional security.
“We’re just going to see how it works,” he said. “I’m not worried about kids with weapons and stuff. Over 99 percent of these kids that come in, I know them. I’m not worried about anything like that.”
Liddell stated in a press release this week that several parents and fans had expressed concerns after the CHS-Aberdeen game.
“Fans attending Columbus football games should feel safe in our stands at all times,” Liddell said in the press release. “I won’t allow disruptive students or fan behavior to cast a negative light on our student athletes, our school district or our city. People coming to Columbus football games should be there for one reason and one reason only — to enjoy the game. If you are there for any other reason, such as to cause trouble, be warned, it will not be tolerated.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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