Editor:

In the Oct. 3 edition of this publication, Mr. Blaine Nichols was provided a public soapbox from which to make unfounded accusations regarding an incident involving sophomore football players from Layton and Davis High Schools. He was able to parlay his tainted version of an unfortunate situation about which he knows essentially nothing into a tirade of accusations against the administrations of both schools -- based entirely on what was, at best, secondhand information from a single junior high-aged source. Rather than taking five minutes to verify the information from a credible source (i.e. any member of the administrations of either school), Nichols somehow decided to make bold and borderline libelous accusations in The Clipper under the thin guise of expressing his "opinion." He should be embarrassed by his column and The Clipper should be ashamed for allowing such obviously ill-informed and accusatory garbage to be printed in the pages of their publication.

Briefly, the facts that seem lost on Mr. Nichols are these:

Fact: The football game incident referred to by Mr. Nichols was a sad and unfortunate event. The vandalism done by DHS students to LHS property in the days leading up to the incident at the game was equally sad and unfortunate. Despite what Mr. Nichols would have you believe, all of the students from both schools have been punished in a manner "proportional to what happened." Read between the lines, Mr. Nichols. Just because you don't know what the punishments were doesn't mean that nothing happened.

Fact: Information surrounding the punishment given to each of the students involved is strictly confidential. Had Mr. Nichols had a reason or a right to know the details, he would have been informed.

But the fact of the matter is that Mr. Nichols has neither. His accusations do not change the fact that the schools are legally required to protect the privacy of their students regardless of what is printed in a local newspaper by an overly-opinionated man.

Fact: Mr. Nichols owes the administrations from both schools a public apology. It's one thing to have and express an opinion, but it's another thing entirely to publish unfounded accusations where absolutely no knowledge of the actual facts is present. Mr. Nichols accuses the administrations of Layton and Davis High Schools of being "gutless" and "complicit in fostering and forcing an artificial rivalry on students" in addition to stating that the rivalry is "cultivated at the administrative level." Nothing could be further from the truth and had Mr. Nichols been a little less "gutless" himself, he would have verified his facts before spouting off.

Fact: Layton and Davis High Schools are both full of dedicated professionals teaching bright and capable students. Accusations that the faculties of each school are guilty of creating a rivalry between the schools as early as seventh grade are ludicrous and don't merit a response. Suffice it to say that Mr. Nichols is woefully ill-formed and entirely complicit in fostering misinformation that is often the beginning of the rivalries that he seems to fear so much.

Fact: Mr. Nichols stated the following in his column: "Whenever adults (especially adults in positions of responsibility and oversight) fail to establish proper high standards of respect for themselves and others, the impressionable and immature children will surely follow and expand upon the lead they are given." I agree completely. However, it is not the school's responsibility to "establish proper high standards" that result in wise choices. That's what parents are for, Mr. Nichols. Educators are responsible to teach facts, provide tools to survive in the adult world and create a safe environment in which to learn.

It often becomes the job of educators to react and punish students who have either not absorbed the lessons taught by capable parents or who have not been taught the lessons at all. That is an unfair burden to place on educators. Maybe it's time that parents on both sides look inward to see what they could have done to have prevented the vandalism and destruction of school property and the stupid and dangerous decision to physically harm other people.

The title of Mr. Nichols' comments was "His Point: Students will follow adults' lead." Ironically, much of the outcry and drama surrounding this incident have come from adults. Granted some of it may be warranted, but some of it certainly is not. In the end, however, the students will only follow the example set by the adults in their lives.

Let's all hope that our students choose to follow the example of the Layton and Davis High administrators who made the conscious choice to handle the situation professionally, appropriately and humanely instead of following the example of Mr. Nichols who chose to make uninformed accusations and place blame where no blame was warranted.



Brady Burton

Syracuse