In a remarkable turn of events, the collective mental health of the students of Woodbridge High School increases after the implementation of the Barrons Unofficial Fight Club.

The secret was kept within the school, though created three days after the start of the new year.

How the Club Came to Be

When asking any of the students about it, they appear to have no recollection of it. One of the students we pulled aside, even went so far as to deny knowing what fighting is: “What? A fight club? What’s a fight club? What is a fight, even– How do you do that? I wouldn’t know. I have to go.”

This answer raised some questions for us at The Barron Perspective: How is a secret this big so well-kept? Our searches led us to none other than Coach Angatia.

Coach Angatia, Coach of the WHS Track & Field Team, has been extra busy this year. He seems to be extra careful with not letting the secret slip. But how does he do it? We still could not get a straight answer out of him.

Coach Angatia started the BUFC secretly through his track team because he was “so fed up” with the students in the track team. He couldn’t participate in the fights as a coach and teacher of WHS, but he could be a referee, directing and multiplying the chaos.

BUFC Rules

Although having an implicitly violent and barbarian impression, the BUFC comes with a few rules. The first of which, declares that if a student taps out, they will be declared the loser and the fight concludes.

In February, an incident occurred where two particularly angry individuals had broken each other’s bones, resulting in a double disqualification– a technical draw. The BUFC humbly asks that none of that happens again.

A seemingly contradictory third rule was made after it was discovered that students were lacking in fighting spirit. If it’s found that you are not putting your all into fighting, you are instantly disqualified.

A fourth rule was initiated by referee Coach Angatia, where any student who gives an apple to Coach A will receive an instantaneous win. However, due to a boom in demand for apples in the area, extending beyond even to North and South Jersey, it is rare to find any apples and win this way.

Additionally, as part of rule five Coach A will reward style points. This way, even if you didn’t happen to win, there’s a big chance you could still win by style points– and Coach A “love(s) an underdog.”

Andrew: The Powerhouse

One student that is not lacking in courage is Andrew, whose name, like the upcoming interviews, will have a replacement name. “A total powerhouse,” said the referee, Coach Angatia, when asked what he thought of Andrew. “I was waiting for something like this,” Andrew stated.

BUFC was officially introduced into the school system by replacing the Friday SEL. We congratulated him on his campaigning for the replacement, “It took long enough. Obviously it works, so it was only a matter of time.”

We were curious, so we asked him: “Do you feel that fighting with fellow students, through the BUFC, has affected how you feel?” Andrew responded, “I love fighting. Fighting is my life. I’m unstoppable now.” Wow, we have a true warrior in Woodbridge High School.

Benefits

Surprisingly, the BUFC has increased the overall mental health of students of WHS by 32% since SEL started, according to a study conducted within the school. There was an additional increase by 20% in comparison to before SEL was instituted during the 2021-22 school year.

Opposition

However, not everyone agrees that the BUFC is beneficial to the students. Some, in fact, are wholeheartedly against it. The ideas against this have sparked the creation of an Anti-BUFC group to be formed. We spoke with the leader in an interview:

The Barron Perspective: So, what is your name?

Anti-BUFC Activist: I am not willing to reveal that information at this time. Do I have to be named?

BP: No, no, it’s fine to be anonymous. Now, what made you vehemently oppose the BUFC so much?

Activist: Are you kidding me? Everything about it is a borderline human rights violation! Students are not in their right mind to decide whether or not to fight, in a fight club especially! And adults should not be encouraging it. It’s so frustrating to get anyone to listen to me.

BP: Why do you think no one listens to you?

Activist: Because everyone just allows it for some reason, without seeing how much of a problem it is.

BP: What do you think about the statistics that show that there has been an increase in WHS student mental health? For example, there is a 20% increase in WHS student mental health from before SEL was introduced to now, not including the decrease from SEL. What are your thoughts on that?

Activist: It’s so obviously fake. I mean, a 52% total increase in mental health after SEL Friday was replaced? No real statistic has that high of an increase, especially from something as silly as regulated fighting in a school setting.

BP: Before we conclude the interview, is there anything else you’d like to say?

Activist: Other than ‘stop supporting BUFC,” no, that’ll be all.

The Opposition to the Opposition: From Hater to Baker

In a surprising turn of events, there seems to be anti-‘anti-BUFC’ supporters. One such student recalls the first time that he came into contact with an Anti-BUFC activist protesting and the inspiring story thereafter:

So yeah. To preface what I’m about to say, I’m someone who is really sensitive to really loud noises. I get these really serious pounding headaches and although it is more annoying than it hurts, it still hurts.

So, one day I’m walking down the hallway and before the main staircase, is a demonstration of kids laying on the stairs. It’s a ‘whatever’ protest, like they could do better but I didn’t even care about that at the time. They had a literal drum set and like, a band there. They had drums, a trumpet, bongos, maracas, the tambourine- oh the tambourine was the worst! I could barely walk out of there with my brain intact. And for your information, they didn’t even sound good. From that day on, I decided to actively hate the Anti-BUFC group.

Lucky for me, there was already opposition to them, called the Lawyers 4 BUFC. I know, an interesting name. They were thinking of organizing a bake sale to fund raise for future projects, and needed more baked goods or else they would have to shelf the idea. I had just joined and as a new member I wasn’t pulling my weight, so I decided to try it out.

I had only over the weekend to perfect the sweet treats. Foolishly, I decided to make macarons, a notoriously hard dessert to make. I went through the ups and downs that weekend. I cried, a lot. Most times it was because the smoke alarm was giving me a headache. At the end of it, my macarons weren’t perfect but they were edible. Even better than that, they were good. They weren’t spectacular, but they would survive in the bake sale. I realized after that weekend that I actually really enjoyed baking.

And that’s where it’s led me today, where I’m saving up money to put a down payment on a commercial business, my very own bakery. In a way I’m thankful that the Anti-BUFC existed because without them I wouldn’t have been so repulsed by them to find hope in the BUFC Lawyers, where I became a baker.

Names may be altered to aid anonymity and protect the identities of the WHS students. Any connection to WHS students is purely coincidental.