Racist vandalism reported at Whitman
The phrase “No cops at Whitman” was spray painted on the exterior wall of the auditorium yesterday morning. MCPD has begun an active investigation to determine the perpetrator.
March 2, 2020
Racist graffiti was spray painted on Whitman school grounds over the weekend, including the n-word and a depiction of a noose, according to sources familiar with the matter. A building service member painted over the hateful messages early Monday morning to prevent students from seeing the graffiti.
According to a morning email to the community from Principal Robert Dodd, Montgomery County police are currently investigating the incident. If the police find that Whitman students were involved, those students will receive “serious school-based consequences and may face additional charges from Montgomery County Police,” Dodd wrote.
“I want to emphasize as strongly as possible that hate crimes will not be tolerated in the Walt Whitman High School community,” he wrote.
This was one of several recent incidents involving hateful graffiti in Maryland schools. In 2018, four students at Glenelg High School in Howard County were charged with hate crimes after painting swastikas and racial slurs on school grounds as a senior prank. This February, Salisbury University on the Eastern Shore cancelled classes after discovering racist graffiti on campus that threatened black students with lynching.
Many students aren’t surprised by the incident. Junior Brian Knighton called the perpetrator’s actions “stupid,” commenting on the fact that this is the second act of hate to occur at Whitman in two school years.
After Dodd made an announcement about the graffiti, several teachers took a moment to reflect with their classes.
“I had a talk with my third period class about standing up and making sure to stop the hatred,” physics teacher Allison Hayes said. “I know it’s really difficult, but it starts with each and every one of you.”
At the start of the school year, Whitman administrators implemented the OneWhitman initiative, where students meet in their homeroom for 45 minutes every Wednesday to have discussions surrounding race and equity. In response to last weekend’s incident, this week’s OneWhitman period will give students the opportunity to “discuss how hate speech in the community continues to impact our school,” Dodd wrote in the same email.
Upon hearing of the incident, counselor Shalewa Hardaway, the sponsor of Whitman’s Black Student Union, reflected on her own encounters with racism and her experiences as an African-American educator.
“I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood as a child, and that word I have seen before,” Hardaway said. “It’s not the first time. I’m not going to sound like it doesn’t matter, because it does.”
Tim • Oct 24, 2021 at 8:46 pm
You guys ever going to report on this? Seems pretty significant to the story. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/aug/18/attorney-manuel-miranda-montgomery-county-police-m/
of course this happened • Mar 3, 2020 at 2:09 pm
this is really quantifiable proof that one whitman is not working, it isn’t stopping racist people from being racist, and this issue can’t be solved by cutesy circles where we sit and talk about our lives. this is so upsetting, and whats even worse is that dodd did not disclose the full info about the vandalism. only the seniors were told the spray paint referred to something as awful as lynching. how are the rest of us expected to be as outraged as we should be if administration is withholding crucial information? this is a total disaster and the response has been sub-par. we don’t know the specifics about what we should be upset about, we don’t know how to fully respond, and yellow wristbands handed out aren’t going to solve racism. so, of course this happened, whitman doesn’t know how to properly address or prevent these events. and they are still struggling to respond appropriately. we are never going to fix the racism at whitman at this rate, but we can start by fixing the attitudes
Ethan • Mar 3, 2020 at 10:36 am
All these comments are true. The environment at whitman is toxic and that’s definitely a huge reason for all the negative news that has continued to come out of the schools. The administration has been moving in the wrong direction to address these issues.
Emily • Mar 3, 2020 at 10:21 am
I completely agree with the people above. One whitman seems like a good idea but was executed so poorly. You need to change the culture around the school to make it less toxic. Instead the school has just become incredibly soft for a lack of a better word. The regulations and programs that have come over the past years have had a negative affect on the lives of students, and even teachers notice it. Before I graduated last year some of my teachers would talk about how the school is getting worse. There’s a reason so many students at whitman have depression and there’s a reason the number keeps rising. By trying to control more of these kids lives and giving them expectations you’re just making it worse.
Max • Mar 3, 2020 at 9:40 am
I completely agree with Joe. The second I walked into whitman I would just get anxious. The school tries too hard to battle its problems instead of trying to make students lives easier. No one is going to express their feelings to a bunch of random students. The problem has gotten even worse since Goodwin left and the school needs to provide more for the students rather than try to help them take baby steps. These actions are unforgivable but maybe students wouldn’t do things like this if the school took better care of them. Tons of students don’t go and skip because of how awful the environment is.
Joe • Mar 3, 2020 at 9:35 am
One whitman isn’t going to do anything and is a good idea that was executed poorly. Whitman’s environment has been toxic for years and there’s a reason so many students have mental health issues. The school keeps adding things to try and make it better but in reality things need to be taken away. As a former whitman student I know my peers would agree because a lot of us are having a much easier time in college. That’s right, college is easier than whitman for some of us because of the toxic environment whitman has.
Ethan Dodd • Mar 3, 2020 at 12:56 am
So I graduated and heard from current students the OneWhitman initiative doesn’t really help. Not that dialogue isn’t good, but it’s mostly preaching to the choir according to my sources. I think Dr. Dodd should take more drastic action. Something should be done to demonstrate that black people deserve to exist at Whitman. Literally rename the high school or co-title with Langston Hughes. “Whitman-Hughes.” I think it has a nice ring to it. Of course a name change is surface level, but there must be an atmosphere change. Seeing that name perhaps with a mural of a black intellectual in the front hall could change the culture. Make students, the vast majority being white, read Af-Am literature in English. I just feel like more could be done…though I understand the difficulties of doing any of these things.