By Brandi Watters
ELWOOD — Just three days after a “death list” was discovered in the possession of one of their classmates, Elwood students said Thursday that they were not afraid to attend school.
Elwood school officials were alerted to the threatening, hand-scribbled list on Monday when a female student noticed the document in the possession of a male classmate. Seeing her own name at the top of the list, the student snatched the paper from her freshman classmate and turned it into Joan Mercer, an Elwood English teacher.
Mercer immediately notified Principal Chris Walker, who called the Elwood Police department.
The list contained the names of 48 students and six teachers, Walker said. “We immediately called the parents of the students on the list.”
The student who wrote the note was immediately suspended from school pending an expulsion hearing, when school officials will decide whether the student can return to school.
Instead of fearing the student’s return to school, some Elwood students are worried about his well-being. “I just hope they treat him with respect,” 18-year-old Kelsey Fuller said. She did not know the student personally but said she was not afraid to welcome him back to school.
Beth Little, 18, agreed with her classmate. “I would be afraid for how he would be treated if he came back. I wouldn’t shy away from him.”
It had been reported that the student who made the list claimed he was teased, but school counselors said they were unaware of his troubles. “I’ve only spoken with him on scheduling things,” said Avril Fisher, guidance director. “He was a very pleasant young man.”
Students and staff agreed that the student did not seem to be troubled or threatening. “Kids said they didn’t expect him to make this list,” Fisher said. Since the incident, the guidance department has spoken with about 15 students. “We talked with three or four who were really shook up,” Fisher explained.
Guidance counselors Fisher and Tina Hankley said teasing, as alleged by the student, was not uncommon. “Bullying is a problem in this school. It’s a problem everywhere.”
Hankley says parents should speak to their children about bullying. “Let them know the affects they have on other people.”
Little, a senior, said bullying was not a big problem in the school. “There’s a small group of people who bully others.”
“It’s mind bullying,” Fuller explained, saying that physical bullying was rare in the school of 600 students.
The students admit that cliques do exist at Elwood High School. “It’s grade level cliques,” Little said, explaining that she did not know the student who made the list mainly because he was a freshman and she is a senior. Most of the students on the so-called “death list” were freshman.
Nick Northcutt, 15, who knew the list-making student, said stress could have been a factor in the creation of the list. “He always seemed like a calm student. It does get more stressful in the second semester.”
School officials found no further indication that the student was intending to harm students. No weapons or other menacing letters or documents were found in the student’s locker. “No details were given,” Walker said. “It was just a list.”
When asked if he thought the student’s threats were serious, Walker said, “There was remorse, and that’s important. (The student) had no idea people were going to make a big deal out of this, but it is a big deal. Everyone has to take this seriously. When you use the word ‘death,’ you have to take it seriously.”
Mercer, who has taught at the school for 34 years, said this incident changed nothing about how she views students. “I am not afraid of my students. I am not afraid to walk into my classroom. I was a little disappointed to think this would happen here.”
While the school remains in a state of heightened security, with two officers from the Elwood Police Department patrolling the hallways, students on Thursday were returning to their normal routines.
“It’s business as usual in my class,” Mercer said.
“There’s cops everywhere, so we know we’re safe,” Fuller said on Thursday.
According to Fuller and Little, students need to be friendlier to one another and avoid bullying in order to prevent future threats. “If you put someone down, be aware of how you’re making them feel,” Little explained.
Fuller’s advice is more simple. “Smile at someone. I smile at people in the hallways, and it’s like, I got to them a little bit. Just say ‘hi’ to someone.”
