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Murry Bergtraum Settles Down One Day After Riot Over Bathroom Ban

By Julie Shapiro | December 10, 2010 10:10am | Updated on December 10, 2010 12:56pm

By Julie Shapiro

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

LOWER MANHATTAN — Murry Bergtraum High School settled down Friday, one day after students rioted over being denied access to the school’s bathrooms.

Principal Andrea Lewis had banned students from using the restrooms Thursday after a fight that morning sent one student to the hospital, the Department of Education and school staff said.

But on Friday Lewis restored access to the bathrooms, and an influx of NYPD School Safety officers helped keep the peace at the 2,445-student school under the Brooklyn Bridge, students said.

There were several fights during the day and at one point a large group of students ran screaming through the hallways, but all disturbances were quickly checked, students said.

Students at Murry Bergtraum High School rioted Thursday.
Students at Murry Bergtraum High School rioted Thursday.
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DNAinfo/Julie Shapiro

"Riots broke out, but it was in control," said an 11th-grade student from Brooklyn, who declined to give his name. "The principal suspended like half the school. It was empty today."

A Department of Education spokeswoman said only that Thursday’s incident was under investigation and “disciplinary action is pending.”

Some students may have stayed home after Thursday’s riot.

"I was afraid to go to class today," said Daisy Valle, 15, a freshman from Bed-Stuy. "We’re scared to go in the building."

In addition to shutting down the bathrooms on Thursday, Lewis also told students over the loudspeaker that anyone caught fighting would be arrested and anyone who was late to class would be suspended, students said.

The bathroom ban was the last straw for the students, who have been chafing under Lewis’s stricter rule since she took the helm this fall.

Students began furiously text-messaging each other, planning a disturbance for fifth period Thursday, according to Gotham Schools, which first reported the incident.

At the appointed time, students ran through the hallways screaming, and teachers locked the doors of their classrooms to keep students inside, a teacher at the school said.

Bergtraum students said the riot happened because students felt like they had no other way to get their voices heard.

"It was really unfair," Ashley Alston, a senior from Brooklyn, said of the bathroom policy. "We had nothing to do with [the initial fight]."

"Kids aren’t satisfied with what’s going on," added Crystal Torruella, another senior from Brooklyn. "We want [Lewis] to get the message that she’s doing something wrong.”

Lewis did not respond to a request for comment.

A teacher at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said security at Murry Bergtraum "hasn't been dealt with in an appropriate way."

"We feel the focus of the new principal has been on the teachers, trying to control what we're doing in the classroom," the teacher said. "But that isn't the weakest link in the chain of the school. The weakest link is security."

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew visited Bergtraum Friday morning and spoke to Department of Education officials there. A UFT spokesman said Mulgrew was concerned about the students' and teachers' safety.

Many students complained about rough treatment by security officers during the riot, and one said the guards called the students “crazy animals.” The new guards brought in on Friday were calmer, students said.

Several students said they didn’t blame Lewis for taking a firmer hand with the school, but others predicted her approach would fail.

"She’s being too aggressive about it," said a 17-year-old student from Brooklyn, who declined to give her name. "When you be aggressive, we give back the same attitude. It’s not going to work that way."

The student added that outsiders shouldn’t judge Murry Bergtraum based on the riot.

"Our school is good — we just have bad moments," she said. "Bergtraum ain’t so bad."