Racist graffiti at high school investigated

VANDALISM

Students and staff of New Albany High School arrived on Monday morning to find three school tennis courts and an equipment shed scrawled with spray-painted swastikas and profane and racist language.

The school district has cleaned up the vandalism, and New Albany police are investigating.

The discovery was made on the first morning of Peace Week, an annual event at New Albany High School to stand “against violence, embrace community, and effect positive change in the world.” Events emphasize acceptance and diversity.

Principal Dwight Carter sent an email to parents and staff members, encouraging anyone with information about the vandalism to take it to the New Albany Police Department or to a school administrator.

“This type of behavior will not be tolerated on our school campus and goes against everything we believe as a learning community,” said the message. “We can and will rise above the hate that this vandalism represents to create the positive conditions for all students to have a sense of belonging.”

The school started the tradition of Peace Week shortly after the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, as a way to memorialize the 13 victims.

This year, New Albany High School is holding a fashion show to raise awareness of human trafficking, a parent panel to discuss how the school “promotes culture, acceptance, diversity, and community,” and sports, music and lunch on the school lawn on Friday.