Many people think social media threats are only about bombings or shootings, but that’s not the case at Athens Drive Magnet High School. At Athens, threats mainly revolve around fighting another individual. It’s an issue they have been dealing with for a while. Due to these threats, teachers have been losing classroom time, kids are scared to go to school, and parents are frustrated that this isn’t being handled as it should.

A study done on schools nationwide shows that social media threats toward schools are up 158% from last year. The administration at Athens has been using new rules to try to minimize this problem, but there is only so much they can do. They will never be able to eliminate this problem since adolescents are unpredictable and impulsive.

“It’s a lot of broken hearts and drama involved in these threats and you can’t control teenage emotions,” said Ryan Piccolo, assistant principal at Athens Drive. 

Schools across the country have been increasing security to try to lessen the threats and keep students where they should be. Some schools even implement more serious security measures, such as adding metal detectors. At Athens, more teachers have been monitoring the halls and parking lots. They also have a new attendance policy. During the second period, they do a head count of everyone

at the school. This makes it harder for students to skip class for fighting reasons.

“We do a better job from last year to this year with trying to control the online threats and fighting,” said Ryan Piccolo, administrator at Athens Drive. 

The administration at Athens has created a color coding system for using the bathroom to reduce this issue. Each part of the school is assigned a color, with bathroom passes that are the same color. Students will be given lunch detention if they are found in the wrong area. This reduces the amount of people meeting up to fight and causes problems. This makes it less likely that people will threaten others online because there is less opportunity to fight one another.

When students send out these threats on social media they are mainly about fighting someone else. They usually have to do with rumors spread and problems with significant others. In other cases, it is bullying. This causes an unsafe environment for students. That’s why schools like Athens have to implement new security rules. Making sure kids are safe at school is one of their top priorities at Athens.

“The social media threats make me kinda scared because I know what’s happening around the country and it’s terrifying,” said Vivian Kirby, sophomore.

The punishment for threatening someone on social media can be either in-school suspension (ISS) or out-of-school suspension (OSS). Once the social media threat has been brought to the admin’s attention, they bring in the student and their parent to decide the next step. If the threat isn’t that severe they can be let go with lunch detention. In some cases where the threat is more severe, they will get out-of-school suspension (OSS). In every situation, the police officer at Athens is always there to assist during these meetings with the student. Another student normally reports these threats. 

“The social media threats have always been a problem at Athens so I have come up with the bathroom system and the attendance. It seems to be working so far,” said Piccolo.