We have all heard it.  We have all seen it glaring at us in the school bathrooms and lockers, the N word. Spread throughout our campus are so many harmful and damaging words. From the N word, to Nazi symbols, to calling people names and racial slurs – these things have no place in a school that is supposed to make students feel included and safe.

Sahuaro is not alone.  The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project administered an online survey to K–12 educators from across the country. “Over 10,000 teachers, counselors, administrators and others who work in schools responded. Growing: verbal harassment, the use of slurs and derogatory language, and disturbing incidents involving swastikas, Nazi salutes and Confederate flags. Eight in 10 report heightened anxiety on the part of marginalized students, including immigrants, Muslims, African Americans and LGBT students.”

Although two-thirds report that administrators have been “responsive,” four out of 10 don’t think their schools have action plans to respond to incidents of hate and bias. School culture is fragile.  We need to work to rebuild community. BuzzFeed news has confirmed 154 total incidents of hate speech at more than 120 campuses across the country.

Danielle Mahler, Junior reported, “I’ve never personally had an issue with racial discrimination because of my racial background. I am completely and fully against judging someone because of how pigmented their skin is. I think race has become a hot topic in today’s society and we should focus more on loving one another than putting each other in different racial groups.” Racial discrimination needs to stop. There are so many other things to worry about then how someone looks or dresses.

If you see this behavior or if you see hate speech or symbols around our school, you should report it. This behavior is not appropriate or acceptable, and it affects our community, as well as the people around you, and the people you know.  If you see it, report it.  If you are the vandal, grow up.