Fights Caught on Tape, Posted Online

Oct. 13, 2007 — -- Fights are being taken out of the schoolyard and posted online -- and it has students and parents concerned.

Earlier this week, at a middle school in Ohio, it all played out on YouTube. One participant said the video on YouTube doesn't show the whole story, another said she feels humilated, and the alleged attacker may be facing assault charges.

"The kids who are putting these videos on the sites are getting responses from everywhere in the world -- not only from their own neighborhoods -- and it's giving them a high," psychologist Dr. Susan Bartell said.

With the added aspect of viewership, it may give the students validation.

"It's fueling them to fight more, it's fueling them to bring their fights to a higher level," Bartell said.

Just this week, a video on YouTube of a locker room attack on a girl in an Ohio middle school brought national attention.

"Every time you watch it, it's like reliving it pretty much, and it's humiliating and it's scary," said Katelind Lewis, the victim featured in the video.

In the video, Lewis, 13, is involved in a fight with her classmate, Amanda Clifford, while others egg them on. Another classmate, Jenny Huber, videotaped the whole battle.

"I didn't think it'd be this big of a deal, it'd be like all over the nation, because of all the fights that are on YouTube and everything," Huber said. "There are worse fights than this on YouTube, and you don't see them getting this much publicity."

Both the videotaper and alleged attacker, Clifford, were suspended from school. But Clifford insisted the video sent to YouTube didn't reveal the full story.

"They didn't show the video from the beginning," Clifford said. "They didn't say that she threatened me. They just show the parts where they're calling her a hero, which she's not, and it makes me look bad."

Her parents are outraged and are considering suing YouTube.

"I'm not happy with this," Clifford's mother Jackie Clifford said. "I think there should be some kind of law, some kind of guidelines, especially when you're involving children. They are promoting kids fighting. That's all they're doing, and they need to be shut down."

YouTube says it has no control over material that is posted but it does have employees monitoring for fights or violence. On Thursday, YouTube removed the video and issued the statement: "Real violence on YouTube is not allowed. If a video shows someone getting hurt, attacked or humiliated, it will be removed."

"Web sites that show fighting definitely glorify violence because they are putting it online," Bartell said. "They are putting it on [a] Web site, there are tons of people watching it, making it seem fabulous, giving everyone their 15 minutes of fame. And that certainly glorifies it and elevates it to something to celebrate and something like entertainment rather than a fight."

This week, Cliford showed up at juvenile court for an unofficial hearing to determine whether charges will be filed. She will be back in court on Oct. 31 to face official charges of assault.