Posted by Iblis at 4/4/08 3:52 p.m.

Gee, maybe we should put the lil darlings on Ritalin....HMMMMMMMM???

Drug 'em up like we do to our boys.....

Posted by unregistered user at 4/5/08 1:29 a.m.

I think only the level of reporting about fighting has increased. Let's not exaggerate the seriousness of the problem.

Posted by unregistered user at 4/6/08 9:59 a.m.

I don't think past underreporting is the problem. In the brief 20 years since I was in high school in the San Francisco Bay Area, schools have changed drastically. I'm not going to lie to myself and believe that we lived in Pleasantville, but things were certainly different. Sure, fights occurred, drugs were present, and crime wasn't exactly non-existant, but nothing like recent news. Gangs of kids jump single targets, school officials routinely host police with drug-sniffing dogs to browse the halls and locker areas, and violent crimes against random victims are being committed by kids trying to make a name for themselves:

cbs13.com/local/Oakland.2.478505.html

It could be said that I went to a more sheltered school in a more affluent area (Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, CA) than those 4 girls, but i don't think my memory is jaded. I still keep in touch with a few staff, and have visited the campus recently.

Another trend I've noticed is how girls get attention. Sure most girls i knew in high school gained a much-sought-after reputation by losing their virginity, and we had a few girls known for getting around, but not to the degree I hear a lot about recently. (I have a sister just out, and two nephews still in, high school.) "Popping your Cherry" has been replaced with a game (or party theme) of "Pimps and Ho's", where guys compete to see how many friends they can "encourage" their female companions to...service. (I'm trying to keep it family-friendly here...)
It's not just speculation. At a party a couple months ago in my old hometown, 11 minors were arrested for just such a "party"; 7 males and 4 females. California law prohibits disclosure of minors' names and/or charges in sex crime cases, and in this rare instance, not a single adult was found in the house.
I suppose one could speculate that the boys were arrested for sexual assault. If that were the case, why were the girls (age 13, 15, 16, and 16) arrested? Referring to the previously mentioned laws, I won't confirm nor deny that any of them were charged with solicitation of prostitution.
Draw your own conclusions, but I seem to remember when Amy Fisher kept caused far more shocked expressions than ho-hum shrugs. Am I right? Are kids the same as they were 20 or 50 years ago?