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Date: 1/10/2024
LONGMEADOW — In the wake of a swastika found scrawled on a whiteboard at Longmeadow High School, students, parents and the community have been wanting to know what happens next.
In response to the Jan. 3 incident, Longmeadow Public School Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea released a message to families and other members of the LPS community. “Certainly, racist, discriminatory speech of any kind is not consistent with the policies of Longmeadow Public Schools and is not aligned with our commitment to being a learning community that embraces and affirms all student identities and cultures. LPS denounces any acts of hate, racism or discrimination in any form.” He went on to say that the Longmeadow Police Department and the school department are investigating the matter and pledged that staff and administrators would continue “supporting students and staff who experience discrimination.”
The incident prompted acrimonious debate on social media, where residents posted hundreds of comments, with some expressing anger at the act, and others accusing them of performative outrage.
Jenna Barr, a sophomore at Longmeadow High School is a member of BBYO, an international organization that works to build activism and community for Jewish teens.
“I wasn’t surprised,” she told Reminder Publishing of hearing about the swastika at the high school. “I’ve been experiencing antisemitism since middle school. It makes me very upset.” While other students are aware Barr is involved with BBYO, she said she has stopped wearing her Star of David necklace. “I’m not worried I’ll be attacked, or anything. I just don’t want ...” Barr trailed off, unable to find the words to express her reluctance to wear the symbol at school.
This is not the first time the school department has experienced hate speech in the past couple of months. O’Shea released a statement on Dec. 27 in response to antisemitism experienced at the high school. In that communication, he stated the LPS is “not immune” to hate and spoke of the importance of teaching youth to respect diversity. Included in the message were links to information from the Anti-Defamation League and the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
O’Shea’s statement in December cited “recent global and national events,” though it did not specifically refer to to the Israel-Hamas war and nor did it expressly mention antisemitism.
“Antisemitism has been on the rise for some time, but it has soared since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel. Unfortunately, incidents like the one seen at Longmeadow High School are becoming more common and are a constant reminder to our Jewish community that the work is never over,” said Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts CEO Nora Gorenstein. “We need to continue to promote tolerance of people of all faiths, of all ethnicities, and of all cultural backgrounds.”
At the Jan. 9 School Committee meeting, resident and parent Spencer Ackerman addressed the committee. He said he was unsure is the swastika on school property would have received the attention is has without the efforts of “activist parents” letting other members of the community know. He also said the response took too long.
“I don’t get the sense that this matter is being taken seriously,” Ackerman said. He added that if a student drew the symbol, they may not appreciate the meaning behind it. He suggested the school conduct an assembly to educate students on the issue. He expressed concern that his children will experience antisemitism as they come up through the schools.
O’Shea said the administration is discussing steps to address such acts. Director of Family and Student Support Nilda Irrizarry is investigating “No Place for Hate,” a program from the Anti-Defamation League that promotes anti-bias education and activities. The school department is also considering community engagement to help address the problem of hate speech in schools and the wider community. In addition, he said the school department’s website is being updated with an easily accessible link to resources and report incidents.
The Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts Marketing and Communications Officer Claudia Mejia-Haffner stated, “We also encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed an incident of antisemitism, extremism, bias, bigotry or hate to report it to the [Anti-Defamation League].” Incidents can be reported at adl.org/report-incident.
The Anti-Defamation League has conversation starters at adl.org/families-and-educators, for families who want to discuss hate speech or related violence with their children. Resources for youth may include finding community with groups like the Longmeadow chapter of BBYO, which has about 15 active members.
“Longmeadow has a good amount of Jews,” Barr said of the community. “I’m proud of my heritage. I just hope things will get better.” For Barr, that hope extends to her sister, who is in middle school. She said she does not want her to experience the hate that she has seen.