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Warren County High School To Arrest Students Who Fight

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Zachary Fields
WARRENTON, N.C. — The Warren County school system expects to surprise students this fall by taking those caught fighting to jail.

Warren County High School Principal Tony Cozart says there were nearly 60 fights on the high school campus last year. According to state numbers, the high school had 20 violent incidents per 1,000 students.

"I think we need to put more responsibility on our students," Cozart said.

A new discipline policy will arrest all students fighting and take them to the sheriff's office where they will wait for their parents.

"If we invite them by the sheriff's office to pick up their kid, we can tell them personally what is going on with their child," said Warren County Sheriff Johnny Williams.

"I think it's a great idea," said senior Zachary Fields, who says he has seen more than his share of fights.

Fields says fights can be a big distraction.

"It does crowd the halls drastically," he said. "You learn to take detours and know which halls to go down."

Josh Jenkins is another senior who thinks the fighting is too disruptive.

"A lot of times it caused a delay in the schedule during the day or students would get very rowdy because of the fight," Jenkins said.

The tougher discipline policy also brings a stricter dress code, which bans students from wearing hats and headgear on campus. Students must also wear pants at the waist. Large T-shirts and sleeveless tops are also banned.

"Unfortunately, students could conceal things under their big and baggy pants that would be unsafe at school," Cozart said.

Cozart said he hopes the new policy will send a message to students that school is for teaching and not for trouble-making.

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