A 55-second video posted on YouTube shows what appears to be Lake Middle School students engaged in a violent fight near campus. The video was posted on Jan. 20, 2011 and had been viewed 686 times as of Monday night.
"They're just punching each other," sixth grader Angelo Tapia said. "Why are they fighting? What's the purpose for fighting? You can talk it out."
While some parents may find videos of student fights shocking, the young people who attend the school say it comes as no surprise.
"Mostly every fight they videotape," sixth grader Oxli Monarrez-Adame said. "I don't think people realize that we're representing our school."
"People just keep fighting and fighting," seventh grader Carlos Gutierrez said, "just a bad reputation for our school."
Lake Middle School's image had already taken a beating before the latest fight video surfaced.
The school has struggled with low student test scores. The Denver Public School Board voted to reform the school in 2009.
DPS Deputy Communication Officer Kristy Armstrong told 9NEWS a similar fight between students was posted online last year. The students involved went through what the district calls a "restorative justice" program, where they were required to make a new video educating their classmates about how to make good choices.
"I don't think people realize that we're representing our school," Oxli said.
9NEWS showed the video to several parents. They said fighting is nothing new, but believe students these days are more violent.
"My daughter will be going there next year and that's pretty scary," parent Anna Trujillo said.
"It's terrible," parent Cynthia Moses said. "You would think one person out of that crowd would stand up and say, 'Hey this is wrong.'"
"You need to teach your children," Trujillo said. "It starts with the parents."
Even other kids say they are fed up with the fighting.
"I hope the fights stop and for the school to get better," sixth grader Damian Lamebull said.
Other students worried their classmates may face long term consequences for their actions.
"Once you put in on the Internet people are going to be copying and pasting," Oxli said. "It's going to be all around the world for a really long time."
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)