Olivia Lang ’15 | Feature Editor

A recently created student-initiated committee, coined “Concerned Students” by Assistant Principal Terry Flint, has formed to measure the overall attitude of South’s atmosphere, committee member Emily Richner ’14 said.

A survey, intended for all students and teachers will be given to all students on Tuesday, Nov. 20  in order for the committee to gauge the students’ opinions of their years at South, member Colden Gosselin ’14 said. Students will have 10 minutes during their third hour classes to complete the survey on their smartphones or classroom computers, Flint said. The survey will be active on the school’s home webpage for 24 hours.

“We just really wanted to get a read on student perception at South, period. It was just something that seemed to come up, and so we had a group of kids who were interested (in helping) to address it,” said Flint.

The sudden increase in physical altercations this year as compared to last definitely contributed to the development of Concerned Students, Flint said.

“There have been a lot of fights and just kind of a negative attitude. It appears in the hallways at South and on social media especially,” said Richner. “We (Concerned Students) are trying to target the negative attitude and change that.”

Richner said she sees more cases of bullying on social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter in particular, than face-to-face at South.

“(The survey is) a way for us to gauge if they’re (students) having a good time or not in their high school years,” Gosselin said. “We’re trying to get a better learning environment for everyone.”

Questions on the survey will surround each student’s outlook on South’s atmosphere socially rather than academically, Gosselin said. Questions such as: “What is your experience on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.?” and “Do you ever feel mistreated by your friends?’ will be present on the survey. Basic questions like one’s gender and grade will be included as well.

“There is a box to choose ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ for most of the questions and then we will always ask them to please explain so it’s more in-depth,” said Gosselin. “(The survey will show) what students want changed at South, like more school unity or more school respect.”

The committee members were taken on a field trip to Grosse Ile, where they too had a rise in physical altercations only a few years ago, Gosselin said. There, 20 students had begun Students Taking a New Direction (STAND) to solve the issue; the club now holds about 150 members.

“They needed to bring more respect there.” Gosselin said. “The school (in Grosse Ile) is just a lot safer now and more positive and it’s just a better environment for everybody.”

After the completion of the survey, the committee will gather and analyze the answers to determine what further steps need to be taken, Gosselin said.

“The committee is going to take the survey answers of the completed surveys and count them up and read them and we will try to use that as a base for a new committee to try and bring more respect to the school,” said Gosselin.

If it turns out that students’ opinions of South do not call for the development of a new program to adjust the atmosphere of the school, then it is unlikely that the new program will form, Richner said.

“If the students don’t see that there is a problem, then probably the chances are very slim about starting any sort of program,” said Richner. “The survey is so important because it’s kind of the basis for what the students’ outlooks are on the attitude at South.”

To form the committee, Flint nominated two kids as influential students, who then went on to suggest more influential students to become members as well, he said.

“I think the most powerful thing a school can do is to activate the students to realize that they can be empowered to create their own climate,” said Flint. “I think by human nature, when we create laws, people naturally rebel.”

To offset this “natural rebellion,” Flint worked to create a student-based solution to the negative attitude at the school, he said. In doing so, he eliminated the need for strict, new policies that he was convinced would not take hold anyways.

“My philosophy is that if we’re looking to do something that could really have a good, positive impact on the school,” said Flint. “Kids have to steer the boat.”

The success of Concerned Students at this point will rely on the honesty of the students in answering the survey. Without the cooperation of the students, it is unlikely any changes could be made to the current atmosphere at South.

“What we’re hoping to do from this is lower the rate of physical altercations, because I know this year there has been a lot of fights already; we’re trying to minimize that and lower the rate by bringing more respect to the school,” Gosselin said.