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Exercises Danger in the streetsPhotos courtesy of Bangkok Post There have been many stories in the Bangkok Post about student brawls in public places, especially at bus stops. According to students and scared travellers, the ongoing battle between students isn�t going to stop anytime soon. Read the story to find out more about this dangerous phenomenon.
Thirty-year-old Seri Pansrinuan oversees passenger vans in the area and has seen repeated violence at the bus stop. �It is like a battleground here. Students get off a bus and confront rival school students, and a gang fight ensues,� he said. �I saw one student almost cut off another student�s arm with a long knife. Sometimes, they go on shootouts. People just have to run for their lives.� PUBLIC BATTLEThe bus stop is also a major connection point with motorcycle taxis and passenger vans, so traffic there is heavy. At least eight high schools and vocational schools are in the neighbourhood. Gang fights mostly start before and after school. The clashes are particularly violent on weekends. �In one fight that involved almost 100 students, a van driver was unable to fit all the knives left behind at the scene into one big bag,� Seri said. ARMED AND DANGEROUS
With a scar he received in a recent fight still fresh on his head, Weera said that he does not turn up at the bus stop empty-handed � he comes armed with a knife and a gun. CROWD CONTROLThe Office of the Vocational Education Commission, police and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority are trying to stop teen brawling. OVEC Secretary-general Weerasak Wongsombat said that teachers, police and BMTA staff have been patrolling dangerous bus stops and attempting to disperse student gatherings. If that does not work, police are called in. Metropolitan Police Division 9 commander Police Major-General Phanurat Meephian said that officers can reach the scene in 10 minutes to break up a crowd. Those steps might be enough to discourage some violence-prone students, but Weera is unimpressed. �I am not afraid of police,� he said. �They detain and then release me when my parents show up at the police station.� FIGHTING THE FIGHTINGIn a new plan to stop student fighting, vocational schools will change Friday class schedules and offer outside training or study tours in the afternoon in an attempt to prevent student gatherings, Weerasak said. Despite government, school and police efforts, Weera believes that violence between rival groups of students is not likely to ever end. �No matter how many measures are introduced, they�re unlikely to stop the fighting,� he said. �It�s a custom with vocational students.� ExercisesRead the story. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct word from the story. 1. Officials and authorities have been .................... bus stops. 2. According to Weera, the fighting stems from a ............ of taking the .......... of students from rival schools. 3. Gang fights mostly happen ............ and .............. school. 4. Weera turns up armed with a ................ and a .................... .
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Sumalee, a commuter, sighed with relief as a long-awaited
bus pulled up to the bus stop on Rama II Road in Bangkok. Noticing students
nearby reaching into their bags, she prepared to run for cover. 
Fourth-year vocational school student Weera Tulsachan, 18,
said that students are not pursuing personal vendettas. He said that the
fighting stems from a custom that involves students trying to take the belt
buckles of students from rival schools.
