By Sofia Williams
Editor-in-Chief
On Tuesday during lunch, the Black Scholars Union (BSU) led a sit-in in the Mustang Mall to denounce an incident of vandalism that occurred on Feb. 8 prior to the Black History Month Assembly.
An email sent to all Costa students on Feb. 8 stated that the “campus was vandalized with graffiti containing the ‘N-word.’” Maintenance and operations staff were able to remove the spray paint before the Black History Month Assembly took place during Office Hours, and Costa officials notified police of the incident. According to Campus Security Lead Ray Lee, law enforcement continues to investigate the perpetrator of this hate crime.
“There was inappropriate graffiti by the English wing,” said Lee. “We’re still investigating the person who did it. [Cleaning the paint] interrupted the maintenance staff’s normal activities because they had to stop what they were doing and work on it.”
In response to the incident, BSU invited Costa students and staff to a demonstration on the Mustang Mall stage to display solidarity for those who have faced intolerance on campus. According to sophomore BSU Vice President Theodora Tuitupou, the incident of hate proves that awareness of racism and efforts to combat it remain necessary at Costa.
“I think this instance of vandalism demonstrates how racism is still prevalent on campus and
that the events that we do, such as the BSU assembly and Black History Month activities, are just as important as they were 60 years ago,” said Tuitupou. “I think it proves that we need to consistently refuse and fight against racism.”
According to Tuitupou, one of the organizers of the event was School Psychologist and BSU Adviser Janet Allen, who worked with administrators and other teachers to quickly execute the demonstration in response to the vandalism. According to Allen, multiple student groups came together to plan and publicize the display of solidarity.
“[The demonstration] came from several students who were upset emotionally and wanted to know what we could do, not only from Black Scholars Union but from the Asian American Club, Latino Scholars Union, and Link Crew, who approached us,” said Allen. “We wanted to think of something we could do right away that could demonstrate that this is an important cause and it is wrong to have hate language and hate graffiti on our campus. It is wrong to have hate acts and hate behaviors on this campus. No matter what group is targeted, it affects all of us.”
According to Costa Principal Dr. Karina Gerger, the administration plans to address the vandalism on campus by continuing to promote the “No Place for Hate” campaign and other diversity, equity, and inclusion education efforts for Costa students.
“[The vandalism] saddens me tremendously,” said Gerger. “We are really trying to work on unity and it goes against all of the work that the No Place for Hate committee is doing on campus. It’s setting us back. We’ll continue with the work that we’re doing for No Place for Hate and with various student groups and will continue to educate our students. I am proud of our students and staff members here [at the demonstration] who are willing to come and show solidarity for a very important cause.”
In a statement released on Feb. 9 about the incident, Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) Superintendent Dr. Johnathan Bowes stated that “we take pride in our school and the diversity of our campus. I know the vandalism does not reflect the values of our school, our staff, or the students we serve. Mira Costa High School and MBUSD strongly denounce any form of hate and racial intolerance.”
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