4 Students Charged After Swastikas, Racial Graffiti Found At Maryland High School
Source: Sun
BALTIMORE -- Four Glenelg High School students have been charged with hate crimes after swastikas and racial epithets, including one that police said targeted the central Howard County school's African-American principal, were found painted on campus sidewalks, outside walls and parking lot at dawn.
Howard County Police said they used video from surveillance cameras to help identify the 18-year-olds, who are facing multiple counts of destruction of property based on bias. Three of the students, Seth Taylor, of Ellicott City, Tyler Curtiss, of Brookeville and Joshua Shaffer, of Mount Airy, were taken into custody at the school, police said. Matthew Lipp, of Woodbine, was picked up by police at his home.
All four were being booked at the county detention center on the misdemeanor charges at mid-afternoon, police said. Information about their attorneys was not available. The arrests were announced less than three hours after county, school and community leaders held a news conference to denounce the incident, which police have labeled a hate crime.
"Today's incident is extremely harsh in terms of what I've witness based on the pictures that I have seen. We will not tolerate this in Howard County," school Superintendent Michael J. Martirano said at the news conference in Ellicott City, surrounded by more than a dozen school, county and community leaders. "We work hard every day to make sure our children are safe and protected," Martirano said. "No child, no staff member, within our inclusive community should ever feel any form of threat or harassment or any form of hate."
Much of the graffiti, which Martirano said was found by building service staff early Thursday morning, was directed at Glenelg Principal David Burton, who is African-American. Martirano said he communicated with Burton earlier Thursday via email and planned to go to Glenelg on Thursday afternoon to meet with staff. Burton was asked to be at the news conference, Martirano said, but chose to stay with students.
The principal held an assembly with students Thursday morning about the incident. Burton, who is in his second year as principal of the 1,173-student school, received a standing ovation, Martirano said. Officials haven't estimated the cost to clean up and repair the damage. The markings were removed in the morning by maintenance workers, a school spokesman said. Martirano sent a note to all school system staff Thursday morning alerting them of the incident, and said he wants to see the incident used as a "teachable moment" with students.
The incident is the first hate crime in a Howard County school this year, authorities said. Susan Grossman, a rabbi at Beth Shalom Congregation in Columbia who stood with Martirano at the news conference, said it's the latest example of growing local anti-Semitism. Grossman said she's heard of an increased amount of anti-Semitic-based bullying among students in the county and called for a mandatory anti-bias curriculum, including lessons about the Holocaust. Martirano emphasized the need for parents to monitor their children's social media use and be active in discussing diversity issues.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/4-students-charged-after-swastikas-racial-graffiti-found-at-maryland-high-school/ar-AAxLhLh
Pub. 3 hrs. ago.
Rhiannon12866
(205,118 posts)elleng
(130,860 posts)Glad to see these authorities acted quickly.
Rhiannon12866
(205,118 posts)Here in New York, World History was all year in 10th grade. World War II and the nazis were covered extensively.
elleng
(130,860 posts)Looks like they'll get into it.
Rhiannon12866
(205,118 posts)My cousins grew up there and they don't think about these things any differently than I do. How these kids thought this was an okay thing to do is incomprehensible to me.
elleng
(130,860 posts)geographically and demographically, I can't understand how these kids, in Howard County, thought this would be OK.
Looks like the matter is being addressed there, and IF the governor (Hogan, Repug) would take it up, would be good; I'm not confident about that. The state legislature, however, is another thing.
Rhiannon12866
(205,118 posts)My uncle worked in D.C. - and that's got to be the most diverse area in the country. And I have to give the Superintendent of Schools and community leaders credit for speaking out about this. They're sending a clear message. And I agree that it would be a positive thing if Governor Hogan supported them - as well as former Governor O'Malley who still has a lot of national support.
RhodeIslandOne
(5,042 posts)They learn enough to pass the tests, then it's forgotten.
Rhiannon12866
(205,118 posts)Viewing Schindler's List would be a start - or at least learning about Anne Frank. Maybe I had good teachers or just that I was interested, but I still remember reading the words of Anne Frank - and my 9th grade teacher's opinion of George Wallace - and that was a few decades ago.
appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)how many Americans really know the extent and seriousness of what's happening. Not enough.
The overt racism and hateful behavior increase and it seems becoming more 'normalized,' like mass shootings.
It was great that officials in charge handled this incident so quickly which is positive.
US' gone crazy maybe! Some say extremists are followers in a "Cult."
Rhiannon12866
(205,118 posts)It boggles the mind! My parents and my teachers wouldn't have put up with these views for a second. I still remember learning about how George Wallace got around election laws in 9th grade Social Studies - several decades ago. He wasn't allowed to succeed himself, so he alternated terms with his wife, Lurleen - thereby holding on to the office. My teacher made his opinion on what had gone on there very clear to us students - and it's obviously stuck with me.
PSPS
(13,588 posts)Rhiannon12866
(205,118 posts)But how and why people follow his offensive views are incomprehensible to me. And didn't he grow up in New York? So did I, and he's a lot closer to WWII than I am. Wasn't anyone talking about the atrocities that occurred? He must have known people who had recently lived through those times.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)RockRaven
(14,958 posts)but don't cry for them argentina
they'll still get into some good upstanding college like Liberty University or maybe Oral Roberts...
Initech
(100,060 posts)Although I have heard some stories that a lot of the students and even alumni there are really unhappy with Falwell's unrelenting support of Dump.
Alethia Merritt
(147 posts)Stiff fines or jail time is in order.
MiniMe
(21,714 posts)I live in Montgomery County which is definitely a democratic county. But I live up in Damascus, and it is a red pocket in Montgomery County. My neighbors had a Trump/Pence sign up before the election.
Judi Lynn
(160,515 posts)Racist graffiti found outside Glenelg High School; 4 charged
Howard County's top educator calls graffiti found outside school 'hate crime'
Updated: 3:16 PM EDT May 25, 2018
GLENELG, Md.
Four Glenelg High School graduating seniors were arrested Thursday after Howard County police said they used spray paint to leave racist graffiti across campus.
The graffiti was found on sidewalks, parking lots and other parts of the Glenelg High School building. Some of it was directed at the school's African-American principal, David Burton, calling him the N-word.
"There was nothing left, basically, upturned -- sidewalks, trash cans, bricks, our buildings, everything that could possibly be available -- with spray paint and some very graphic poignant representations. No group seemed to be spared," Howard County Public Schools Superintendent Michael Martirano said.
Other graffiti depicted a swastika, a homophobic slur, male genitalia and other derogatory acronyms. Police said most of the graffiti was found in the back of the school.
More:
http://www.wbaltv.com/article/howard-countys-top-educator-calls-graffiti-found-outside-school-hate-crime/20894782
appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)certainly were busy at work destroying property and defacing their school with expressions of bigotry and hate..
The outcome will be interesting to see.
WBALTV:
"Four students were charged with multiple counts of "destruction of property based on race, color, religious belief, sexual orientation, or national origin," which is a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to three years in prison, police said.
Three of the students, Seth Taylor, 18, of Ellicott City; Tyler Curtiss, 18, of Brookeville; and Joshua Shaffer, 18, of Mount Airy, were taken into custody at the school Thursday morning. Matthew Lipp, 18, of Woodbine, was arrested at his home, police said. According to the school's website, Curtiss and Lipp are student athletes..."
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Most schools in this area much more diverse than this. Howard is a very affluent county, but sometimes there are culture clashes between older rural areas and newer suburbs. There are some hicks in the sticks. There is a KKK presence in some of the older areas. I live in the country next door. Howard is Democratic, too. Maryland is about two thirds Democatic.