By Trina A. San Agustin
Variety News Staff

AT LEAST 10 minors and adults were in custody yesterday afternoon for involvement in their own version of mixed martial arts fights on the George Washington High School campus last week.
However, as of press time, it was not known whether the Guam Police Department had charged any of the 10 in custody.
And with the recent advertisements for mixed martial arts fights that are to take place in the next couple of weeks, GPD, the Guam Public School System, and the Attorney General’s Office are working together to find out how students were able to stage a mixed martial arts fight of their own at George Washington High School last week.
The Guam Education Policy Board was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting to find out how the students were able to organize and film the event.
GEPB board chairman Peter Alexcis Ada told Variety that they would also discuss why there were no administrators, school aides or teachers in that area of the Mangilao campus at the time of the fight.
A video tape of the mimicked mixed martial arts fight was discovered.
The tape, which consisted of extremely graphic content and shows students going several rounds in a fight in the school’s hallway, was played for members of the media by GPSS Superintendent Luis Reyes.
The video showed a large group of students watching the mimicked mixed martial arts fight and even assisting the fighters in getting back on their feet and starting the fight all over again. The students were seen wearing their school uniforms with mixed martial arts-style fighting gloves on.
“The bottom line is that there are areas in the high school where two segments of the video were tapped. The superintendent wants to make sure the message of ‘zero tolerance’ goes out and will lead to the expulsion of the students involved,” Ada said.
According to Reyes, he met with the attorney general on Friday when he first heard about and viewed the tape.
“There is an urgency about what is going on in the school with these extreme combats,” Reyes said. “We need to get the message out to parents that we don’t want to see students get hurt while in school. We are not going to condone violence in school or at home.”
Reyes told Variety that these mimicked mixed martial arts fights are also finding their way into middle schools.
“I guess the students are mimicking these extreme combats. But even in the fights that people pay to see and that are managed in a controlled environment with a referee, the fighters are still getting hurt. Imagine in a school where there is no referee. If we can have a humane society for animals, we should have one for humans,” added Reyes.
Reyes said he appreciated the concern GPD and the AGO have for student safety on campus.
“It is a partnership between us, GPD and the AGO to get the message of zero tolerance out. GPD will actively pursue those violating the law. The AGO will actively prosecute those who violate the law,” Reyes added.