I've been hearing about lots of bad behavior by fans at these games. A little reluctant to take my kids.

I heard the language coming from the stands was quite foul as well. Of course it was cub scout night as well!

Thanks for the warning(s). I won't be taking my kids to any High School football games anytime soon. In fact, i'll add that to the list of things I shield my kids from; the internet, television, bright sunlight, large hadron colliders, tall people, the red roof inn, cholesterol, eachother... A safe child is a happy child!

It does not suprise me that the students from WSH behave like this. I have been to games in the past and am appalled at the behavior, language and sheer disrespect for the people around them . Woodbury SH students come off as over privilege spoiled brats which seems to be the social norm these days and the parents who have these children should be ashamed of their parenting skills can we not raise above this and set a better standard for the future generation. I decided to never take my children to a game again and waste my money for the price of a ticket for that mess.I would be embrassed to admit that my children attend Woodbury High School. Where is the supervision. who is accountable for this?

As a parent of a Woodbury High School student and football player I am both appalled and embarrassed to hear about these events. I was at that game, but working in the concession stand that night. At this point I can only hope that the "fans" who assulted this girl were disciplined by the school. I don't think being banned from the rest of the games this season is too harsh a punishment, also detention, and cleaning the stadium. I don't think any amount of apologizing could rectify the situation for the poor girl. I don't know if the principal was even contacted, but I would like to forward this piece to her in hopes that she would at least make an announcement to the student body declaring zero tolerance for the deplorable behavior exhibited.

I get that this was a bad incident. But are Woodbury students really too different from students elsewhere?

Certainly not ok behavior, but might be a little unfair to label all "WSH students"- especially those not participating, those on the field, and those not even AT the game as "over privelage (sic) spoiled brats"!

As a student at Woodbury High School, I was sitting at the top of the bleachers when I saw this incident. To be honest, I was appalled, it was just a mean and unsportsmanlike thing to do and as stated, especially in front of a bunch of kids. I would like to defend WHS and say that we don't all act like that. Just a couple jerks started it and everybody just went along with the crowd. As far as the language goes, yes I will admit I do accidentally let a couple swear words fly in front of someone younger than me every once in a while, but I compare it to adults when they go to bars. I'm sure your language isn't sparkling there either, but that's where you like to hang out, and this is where we liked to hang out, just turns out where we hang out varies in a lot of age groups.

Tina Flaa, really? Wow, to sit there and call ALL Woodbury HS kids what you did is really not much differant than what those students did to that poor girl. I hope your double standards don't confuse your children or the cycle will never end, will it?

Maybe not all WHS kids are over privileged and spoiled,but this seams to be the norm all over not just WHS kids, but kids in general. Where were the WHS kids that stood up and Said "Knock it off, this is not how we behave" I did not hear from that group, were there any in attendance? Next time speak up you might just find out that you can have a voice, you can make a difference and feel good about yourself. If not you then who will, if not now when?

I would like to comment on the JROTC cadet. The cadets who were on the track were throwing small soft toy footballs into the stands during half time. None of them threw garbage. And if the writer of this letter was so disturbed by what happened why didn't she alert the HS staff of what was happening instead of waiting more than a week and putting it online?

As a Woodbury mom of a soon-to-be high school athlete, I think this issue needs to be addressed publicly by the principal, the coach/other adults who are supposed to be in charge and those who were there. I was there with my two middle school-aged stepchildren but thankfully we were far enough away that our kids didn't hear and we distracted them from the commotion, and we didn't quite understand what was up. I can promise you that if we were closer, my husband and I would have stepped in. What were all the adults within earshot doing? This does actually speak volumes about everyone who sat idly by and allowed it to happen without stepping in - regardless of where they were from, how "spoiled" they are, etc. This incident needs to be talked about, because its an issue of public bullying, and I'm sure the effects on the poor girl were devastating and will haunt her. Can you even imagine that happening to YOU as a young, vulnerable teen?? I don't understand why everyone is not rallying more aggressively to support her, or why anyone would even think to remotely defend, distract or deflect blame in this situation. Like it or not, this situation reflects on ALL OF US. What we as a community do with it is up to us all.

PS: if the Woodbury police escorted the victim out, did they go talk directly to the people who harassed her??

I agree with June.
Tina, To judge all students based on the actions of some does not generate an accurate picture of the total student body At WHS. Many students that attend WHS are polite, respectful, hardworking young adults who are making positive contributions to society in and out of school hours. I personally know a number of them. Though it sounds like some of the crowd at the football game exhibited behavior for which they should be embarrassed, I am not embarrassed to admit that my child attends Woodbury High School.

My 6th grade daughter and a bunch of friends attended East Ridge vs Woodbury game Friday night and witnessed some of the same behavior coming from the Wpodbury fan side, Cups were thrown at people's heads and lots of taunting and foul language. Clearly this awful behavior has continued beyond the poor Park HS girl incident.

I don't think the writer was trying to paint all WHS students with the same brush. There are going to be those outliers pretty much anywhere, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be a topic of conversation.

Hester, I did not attack the original letter writer, I asked a question. As you know nothing about my son the "hoodlum" comment was completely out of line! There is alot of staff members at the football games and I wanted to know if she was that upset did she get up (and take her kids with her) and find someone to report the incident to. Insulting my son was very narrow minded and part of the problem with many of the comments. No matter where you live or what school you go to there will be people that make good decisions and others that make bad ones.

By the way Hester, salutations and first names are capitalized. Where did you go to school?

As the writer, I am NOT implying that all of the WHS students are bad kids. In fact, none of these kids are bad kids. Just some making bad choices. We live in this district and many of my neighbor kids have gone to, and are going to WHS. They are kind and respectful kids. Regarding earlier comments, I submitted this letter, at the same time, to the principal and ROTC department and received apologies from both. The most sincere and heartfelt letter was from Maj. Petzold. Because, it was not, after all, little white football tossing time. We were standing directly in front of cadets. Regardless, he made a mistake, one I'm sure he will learn from. My hope, is for students and adults alike to be kind and respectful to one another.

Thanks Jen.

I attended a varsity girls volleyball game at Hill Murray with my middle-school aged daughter (to learn the game) while they played Tartan. A Hill-Murray math teacher, my daughter's volleyball coach, suggested we attend.

There were a group of maybe 20 high school boys in the bleachers. During the game they shouted "whore" "slut" "bitch" to Tartan players from the moment the girls entered the gym. My daughter's coach sat in the bleachers with everyone, mostly Hill Murray students and did nothing. The behavior went on during the game, the group of heckling students laughing and encouraging each other. It went beyond immaturity. My youngest 4 year old daughter sitting beside me heard these boys. Standing up against them myself could have started something NO ONE wanted to witness.

My feeling was the math teacher/coach didn't do anything because teachers are used to that kind of behavior in high schools now. My kids, now older, say the behavior of swearing and bullying in the halls at the high school are a norm. It's their world. They say the teachers swear on a regular basis.

By the way, I also went to Woodbury Senior High for 4 years. During those years, I was frequently called a slut by the popular/jock group of boys. How cruel and untrue. It framed long-term resentment for me toward my high school experience. I feel extremely protective of my daughters now & cringe at all of this.

Can teachers who attend the games after teaching hours interene?

I meant to say, can teachers "intervene".

Let's remember that this isn't some Woodbury-specific problem. As a high school student, I would have stepped in in some of the above situations, but it's not always that easy.

While this is a truly disturbing incident, woudn't it be more effective to address the real issue? To simply throw out a blanket statement about "overpriviledged" Woodbury kids is rather insensitive and senseless. We are residents of Woodbury, and if by "overpriviledged" you mean that our children are fortunate enough to live with 2 parents who work full time jobs, try our best to instill values and morals, attend church regularly, play a part in ensuring our children do their homework and are respectful, yes, then our children are indeed "overpriviledged". My house is far from new or glamorous.
I certainly can agree that if I brought my young children to a game and they witnessed rather unfortunate behavior I would be saddened, angry, frustrated. But before you judge too harshly - children are growing, they are often misinformed, they make poor decisions and unless your child always shared his favorite toy with the other preschoolers, never called names in kindergarten, never got in a fight with the other kids on the playground, don't be too sure that when your precious babies reach highschool that they won't make a few judgment errors.

If the best the adults here can come up with is a slam about where the others attended highschool (20-40 years ago, really??), and their verbal skills, we are in more trouble than you think. Why don't we take this for what it is...poor behavior that requires addressing, do that and move on.

So, the next time you witness this kind of behaviour, what will you personally do about it?

I don't think public or private has anything to do with it.

Mr. P,
You obviously have some unresolved issues from your time in high school and what you did or didn't get at home. Rather than posting and ranting here, I do suggest you seek help for them. All the best.

As a parent of a WHS student, I sincerely apologize to this girl. This behavior is uncalled for. My experience isn't just this one game and I can assure you that children from all over taunt and bully which certainly doesn't make it right. However, after reading this article, I will be better about finding the school official and also reprimanding the children on the spot as I have many times before. When I have reprimanded a child, they have always responded politely. Youth need to be reminded.

Last Friday at the ER/WHS game, I was in line at the porta-potty and saw perhaps a 7 year old sporting an ER sweatshirt walk up to the Woodbury football kicker and tell him that he sucked. I looked at the child only to see that he was with adults perhaps his father who didn't intervene. I regret not intervening.

What I didn't do and won't do in the future is start gossiping on a website and calling names of all ER students as above. It really isn't helpful and only perpetuates the problem. If any adult sees my child acting inappropriately, feel free to reprimand them. It takes a village.

Hey I just wanted to let you all know that our school made an announcment about this article. Looks like you got to some people with this complaint. Congrats.

I'm sorry but people are making TOO big of a fuss about it. And if you weren't there to see the WHOLE thing, please stay OUT of it. As James said earlier a group of Park kids caming up to the WHS stands and started yelling chants with vulgar language and as they slowly departed, the one girl stayed behind to make sure we got the finger and then that's when you people decide to look over to see whats happening. And, don't be so judgmental about ALL the WHS students. I'm pretty ticked right now that everyone is naming off ALL the WHS students when it was only a few troublemakers that took action. Being the Marching Royals, we witnessed it all. And if you don't want the "Future Generation" not seeing these things, then don't take them! Things happen that shouldn't but sometimes its just life. I hope you all got out the complaining because here comes the DEFENCE of WHS. We aren't the ONLY school that does this kind of stuff. I'm sure Park and East RIdge do the same stuff. And another thing about the ROTC, if you SERIOUSLY think they were throwing trash at the Park girl, you must be blind because they were throwing toys to the crowd and kids. You people are kidding me. Yes, WHS kids get out of hand sometimes, but all kids do! Why bash on only WHS when ER and others have!

Tristan, can you forward me the note? kris.janisch@patch.com

Wow, I almost believe the overabundance of discussion regarding a childish incident conducted by children could create format for Word Peace. I think the majority of you should follow the link: http://www.un.org/en/employment/ and apply for a job. Your professional, intellectual character is just what the morons seeking world domination are looking for. While you’re at it, ensure you motion to allow the rest of the world to determine what our constitutional rights should be.
I have read several posts stereotyping a community and school as a whole. You refer to the act as bullying, disrespectful and just absolutely horrifying. Put out an APB to locate her, and contact the local authorities to conduct a Health and Welfare check. She may have ran away from home, joined a cult, and could even be contemplating hurting herself…All because she willingly put herself into a position that welcomed humiliating retaliation. I bet she has shrugged it off and has already fallen victim of her vicious ways once again.

Maybe I missed it but we haven't heard from the young lady who led her posse into the WHS stands with the intent of infuriating the already excited young fans. Nor have we heard from her parents, or the rest of her crew. Do you know how she felt? Those affected by the misbehavior do have a right to address the situation. However, I find it ridiculous that it was presented with such distaste, and total disregard for the feelings of the rest of the students, their families, and the city of Woodbury.
As for the ROTC, remember they are just children as well. I bet if you have a child in the Military, thinking of joining or preparing to join that you will understand more than most. Let them be children as long as they can. Before long they will be turned into adults, leaders, and no longer a child. They will face your fears; death, discrimination, hatred, and atrocities. This little involvement in a childish event will not even compare to what they could be a part of in the near future. I know you will not only be glad, but proud of what they are willing to step up and do for this nation, no matter how ugly it appears to be.

Now, let’s conduct a little exercise. Read your posts to see if you can honestly say you have not ridiculed, bullied, or trash talked innocent people. People who were not at the game, did not participate in the activity, and most likely were not in the vicinity of the incident. I am guessing an overall epic failure. I too may have labeled some of you harshly, in my opinion you deserve it. If you are offended, well, now you know how it feels.
As for myself, I attended the game with my family to include a younger child. I noticed commotion in the area where the overzealous high school students exercise their school spirit. I felt the children did a great job at placing themselves in their own section of the stands opposite of the band. Seems like strategic placing to me. They placed themselves away from the majority of the crowd so they could act as teenagers should and always have acted. I encourage my children to explore the rest of the world, and learn from it, as long as the lesson is the difference between right and wrong. I can only hope that I have instilled morals and values into their growing minds.

I'm pretty shocked that this happened at WHS... this is definitely not our usual standard, and I can say that honestly, we're usually pretty decent kids. I wasn't at the game myself, though, so I can't give a personal account, but I can say this: no matter what the Park girl did, no one should have thrown things at her. That is uncalled for. But also don't think that PHS and ERHS students have never acted meanly towards WHS students, because that is not the case. So, if she really was acting vulgarly as was reported, then she should have been removed promptly by a school official and kicked out of the game entirely--of course, along with every single student that acted as bad as she did... which I hope is what happened, but I'm guessing not. I think that all high school students who have read this can take something away from this article, not just WHS students. We should all learn to have good sportsmanship and be polite and friendly towards one another: that is what I identify with as true "class."

K

Kay^^ ..i think everybody at highschool games say stuff...its not a big deal..k...#youcanstoptalkingaboutthis...ive been to games where people do this ots just a littlw trash talking no big deal...growupplease and stop talking about this..

Grow up everybody..u talk trash in hs..so stop commenting

Eastridge talks more crap then woodbury...so youcan be quiet pleaseeeeeeeese

Whs

Leanne
It really does amaze me how quickly people are willing to make assumptions and accusations without really knowing what happened. I think if everyone actually remembered what they were like at this age they would see there really is no difference between then and now. I have been to a large number of high school games of schools all over the Twin Cities. I have heard swear words said by an entire school as part of a cheer. Kids do stupid things...period. Parents need to call them out on their behavior because that is our job. But cut them some slack. To make generalizations is ridiculous. I certainly hope the young girl from Park's parents are having a conversation with her about her choices...it seems to be what started it. And hopefully the other parents are as well. I think the Administration is doing a great job handling the situation...not an easy feet trying to control the behavior of 1800 some students. If you all have kids, you know how hard it can be to get a hold of our own. No more bashing...it is so unproductive!

Let's be honest. That is ghetto Woodbury. I wouldn't send my dog there.

Here's the letter to the editor in response to this piece: http://patch.com/A-ym88

It's perfectly safe for families to attend high school football games at any high school, Woodbury included. The students have their own "student section", away from families (which is why no adult stepped in).

Also, wow...people make it sound like all of hell breaks loose in the student section. It's really not bad at all. Probably nothing worse than when you were in high school. Will a very select group of druggies show up high or drunk at the game? Possibly. Will the "superfans" get a little more into the game than they should? At times, but they usually don't chant anything too vulgar. If they do, they get kicked out by an administrator. Literally 98% of the students attending the game are just there to have a good time with friends. I'm truly sorry if a few of my peers caused assaulted the Park girl at the game.

Again, please don't let this mistake made by a couple of some unbehaved students scare you away from attending a football game. Friday night football is an event that I encourage everyone from the community to participate in.

Lastly, I was at the game and didn't see this unfortunate event. From what I heard, what happened really wasn't as bad as what was written, and that the Park student did/said some things to make the WHS student section angry. Again, I wasn't at the game, and can't verify what happened.

God bless.