Claremont is not known as a newsworthy city, but on Friday, Sept. 20, an unusual twist of events riled up CHS. There was a fight between two students which was quickly broken up, with the offenders taken to the office. While a fight isn’t considered a strange occurrence in and of itself, what followed has made students, parents, and administrators at CHS raise their eyebrows. About ten minutes after the altercation, Dr. O’Connor was contacted by Channel 7 News for information about an alleged “riot.” Claremont Unified School District and the Claremont Police Department were also contacted by ABC about the event. It is not completely clear how Channel 7 came to believe that there was a riot, but it is most likely the case that someone contacted them reporting that a riot had occurred. There is no information on who this anonymous witness might have been, but the allegations about a riot caused Principal Brett O’Connor to send an email to parents, placating the rumors.

“At the end of the lunch period today, two CHS students engaged in a brief physical altercation,” the email said. “CHS staff intervened and the students were brought to CHS Student Services. Shortly thereafter, Channel 7 News contacted CHS, CUSD, and CPD inquiring about a “riot” that occurred on campus. CHS told Channel 7 News that there was no “riot” and that we had no information about what they were alleging. At the end of lunch, all CHS students returned to class and resumed their regular schedules.”

Sebastian Cangahuala, a senior at CHS, seemed mildly surprised by the news of the fight.

“It isn’t really common that a fight breaks out,” Cangahuala said. “But it is common for things to get blown out of proportion.”

In the end, no harm was done from the misrepresentation of events, but it serves as a good lesson for all. After this one-time anomaly, Claremont is back to being a quiet city for news.