Walking through the halls, students are focused on getting to class, talking with friends, and doing last minute studying; however, currently, some are concerned about avoiding fights after one high-profile incident.

On March 17, a fight involving multiple students broke out, resulting in one juvenile charged with two counts of Aggravated Battery, the Western Springs Police Department’s report for the week of March 16, 2025–March 22, 2025 said. While this fight was publicized throughout the LT community due to a series of videos depicting it, this incident was not the first of this year. 

Just nine days later, the Western Springs Police Department reported an incident of theft amounting to $60 from a student’s locker. Three days prior to the fight, two juveniles were cited under local ordinance for Possession of Cannabis at SC. All of these instances of crime have occurred within the span of one month, but the fight was top of mind.

“I heard a collective gasp, and I saw a bunch of teachers come out of their offices in A-wing and tell me to be careful,” an anonymous LT freshman said. “By the time I got there, teachers were breaking up the fight, but the consensus was that they took a while to do so.”

Facts about all of these incidents were made publicly available on the Western Springs Village Website. The involvement of the Western Springs Police Department at SC is often an unseen presence that runs deeper than the Student Resource Officers at both campuses. LT Principal Jennifer Tyrrell is very transparent about the intersection of the school and the police. 

“We have what are called memorandums of understanding with departments that kind of govern the collaborative relationship that we have with the department through our Student Resource Officers (SROS),” Tyrrell said. “It’s a very collaborative relationship. We have two SROs right now who are very good at developing relationships with students and collaborating with us and our team. But they work for the police department. So we have different jobs to do. When situations occur that require more significant collaboration, it’s really important that you work together.”

Collaboration is a key aspect of creating a safe school environment, Tyrrell said. This is seen through all staff at both campuses with students. Drew Eder, the Division Chair of Counseling & Student Support Services, deals with the interaction of students, trying to prevent incidents before they occur, with frequent meetings of the support staff.

“Our weekly meetings are when we try to identify students who are showing warning signs, such as decreasing academic performance, low attendance rates, or other concerning behaviors,” Eder said. “It’s definitely a problem-solving process that is individualized and relies on teamwork to identify how we can provide what students need to be successful academically and emotionally at LT.”

LT conducts other programs to encourage students to feel a sense of belonging at school. The initiative of “Just Pick Two” of encouraging students to participate in at least two extracurricular activities is part of this plan. Less visible than these programs are the relationships between students and the faculty and staff.

“It’s the relationship that you develop, the say-something culture that becomes part of who you are as an institution,” Tyrrell said. “It’s your focus on relationships, and when you have those things, when you have a focus on relationships and you make every attempt to create a culture of belonging and students have strong relationships, not just among each other but with our staff, you avoid a lot of situations that may compromise safety. Those are foundational. It’s relationships. It’s created a culture of belonging.”