Violence Strikes at “Glow”

Principal Wynne Satterwhite sent an e-mail to parents cautioning against popular teen nightclub event “The Glow.” Her warning arrived in about 2,00 inboxes on January 25 and informed parents that three students attending the Sunnyvale club had been physically attacked there the previous weekend.

According to Satterwhite’s notice, two of the three assaulted students suffered injuries. One was junior Blaire Lee-Nakayama, who arrived around 9 p.m. on January 20. As she approached the entrance, Blaire was hit in the eye by a stranger.

“Some girl punched me,” Blaire said. “She was walking towards us … I noticed there were people walking past me but I didn’t really realize it, so when I saw a fist coming at me it was just like ‘Where’d that come from?”

Blaire was taken to an emergency room and treated for a bone fracture, tissue displacement, hemorrhages in the opposite eye, bruising, swelling and a leakage of blood into her sinuses. Her parents are pressing charges against the perpetrator, who told police that she mistook Blaire for someone else.

Satterwhite included in her memo that she was “not suggesting that everyone who attends is attacked or injured.” Still, some students feel that the warning to parents stirred up fear unnecessarily.

“It is a really safe club compared to a lot of the other clubs,” said junior Erica Best, who has been to “The Glow” 10 times. “They have at least 8 to 10 [security guards] there every single time.”

Satterwhite felt her notice was notice was a necessary precaution.

“My understanding was that security didn’t really get involved,” Satterwhite said. “A lot of times I think parents don’t know what’s going on. And as a parent, I would want to know.”