By Lily Mitchell
Executive Sports Editor
The Board of Trustees approved security cameras on Sept. 14 while the Costa community continued to educate students about the recent anti-Semitic vandalism found on campus on Sept. 12.
Members of Costa’s Maintenance and Operations Department recently found an anti-Semitic slur and swastikas drawn on the bathroom walls by the senior quad. According to MBUSD security lead Ray Lee, staff members believe this hate crime occurred after 4 p.m. on Sept. 11.
“As soon as we discovered the graffiti, we instantly had it cleaned up and made police and FBI reports,” said Lee. “These hate crimes are not just a Costa issue; it is an issue throughout our community. This is a scary thing, and it makes people feel unsafe.”
According to Interim Vice Principal Dr. Carolyn Seaton, although similar crimes on campus have occured before, this is the first time anti-Semitic vandalism has been found on campus this school year. Costa is taking action to find the perpetrators and end these crimes.
“This is my first year at Costa, but even when I was superintendent of schools in Northern California, I still encountered anti-Semitic graffiti,” said Seaton. “This issue is not limited to Mira Costa High School.”
According to Seaton, the Board of Trustees approved high-tech comprehensive security cameras that will be installed on campus, and security guards will rotate through different bathrooms throughout the day. On top of that, the security team has commissioned extra patrol at night to see if the team can find any suspicious activity on campus, according to Costa’s Resource Officer Donovan Torres.
“The school board approved surveillance cameras for the campus, but that by itself won’t stop the issue,” said Lee. “However, it will give us a chance to identify when these actions are happening and will give us a better opportunity to discover who the culprits are.”
Ongoing education for students and staff will be a critical component to solving this issue, according to Seaton. Staff members are finding ways in which both teachers and students can receive snippets of education regarding diversity and inclusion, whether that’s during homeroom or assemblies.
“I want to know if there are pieces of education our English and History teachers can weave in so that we can better educate our students on anti-Semitism and hate crimes,” said Seaton. “The question is ‘where does it seem to fit in naturally in the curriculum?’ For instance, a possibility is to provide a video on hate crimes during Tuesday’s homeroom and then answer discussion questions during homeroom that following Thursday.”
According to Lee, Costa staff members have not remained silent. Instead, they have acknowledged and communicated issues with inclusion and diversity. According to Seaton, Principal Dr. Karina Gerger, along with Seaton herself, visited the Jewish Cultural Club for the club’s lunch time meeting last week while Officer Torres remained by the door at all times. Gerger also sent out an email to all parents and staff members so that the community is aware of what is going on.
“We don’t hide these things under the rug, and we need to be transparent,” said Seaton. “It takes a whole community to work together and address these issues. These are not just Mira Costa issues; they are community issues.”
The Jewish Cultural Club has been taking action as well. According to co-president of the club, junior Tyler Hirshberg, the members have access to phone numbers and emails of the police department, as well as the contact information of Costa’s principal and vice principals. This gives them the ability to efficiently contact Costa staff if they discover any further information on these anti-Semitic acts.
“We have club members constantly posting on instagram the words, ‘if you know anything, say something,’” said Hirshberg. “These senseless acts have made me, along with many others, feel discriminated against. I strongly believe that on top of implementing higher security, students need to be educated more on this topic.”
Hate crimes have legal consequences. According to Seaton, whenever the individual(s) responsible for this vandalism are found, they will be disciplined by Costa administartion and the Manhattan Beach Police Department (MBPD).
“The most important part of my job is making the students feel safe; therefore, discipline is crucial,” said Seaton. “In order for students and staff to support each other and learn at optimal levels, we have to feel safe. Members of the Jewish faith on our campus will not feel safe if incidents like this occur, so it takes all of us working together.”
Costa’s security team is working together with other staff members along with the MBPD to make Costa a safer place. According to Torres, it is a collaborative effort and will take not just staff members but the whole community to end this issue.
“Investigating these types of crimes is very difficult,” said Torres. “We can’t just leave it up to the safety team and the police department; it takes students and families to help out too. The students are the hands and feet of this campus, and the way to determine who has really done this is with the help of them.”
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