About a week ago, some members of our school encountered what is not typically seen on a classroom wall. On a laminated map of the Middle East and Africa in H9, six countries had their names transformed into words that are meant to be racist and sexist, going well beyond what this community considers appropriate.

Niger and Nigeria were changed to racist epithets, and other countries’ letters were altered to suggest body parts in sexist, derogatory terms.

If this type of graffiti had been seen on the streets, it would not be shocking at all; people would assume that a group of kids found some “creative” ways to show their ignorance and immaturity. However, because these words were displayed in a classroom of a school, these acts have raised various questions from our community members.

Regarding school graffiti in general, social studies teacher Daniel Frio was not surprised:

“I am not shocked with the graffiti because such things have happened periodically over thirty years of my career at Wayland High School.”

On the other hand, Frio explained that the community should also inquire about the sexist remarks that were made on the poster. He stated that the “issues of sexism are not addressed as much as racism,” and that “sexism is not a topic of much priority to schools in general, and this is a disservice to females.”

Social studies department head Kevin Delaney criticized the popular culture for potentially affecting the students in a racist and sexist way.

“Ubiquity of racist and sexist remarks in the popular culture trivializes the wrongfulness in them and therefore gives people false discretion. It also tends to remove the social and historical context from the younger generation.”

Teenagers would agree that they have heard “the ‘N’ word” in many rap songs. Furthermore, it is common for them to hear sexually charged words used in derogatory ways on comedy shows or YouTube videos.

Patrick Tutwiler, our school’s principal, expressed how unusual it is for him to hear that such graffiti exists at our school:

“These sorts of behaviors are not representative or characteristic of our school or the Wayland community. However, when any single act of ignorance occurs, it is incumbent upon us to speak out against it.”

Social studies teacher David Schmirer was the first faculty member to witness the poster, as it was posted on the wall of his classroom. While he is frustrated by the lack of respect shown by those students who made the graffiti, he understands the situation:

“While I am disappointed and upset, I am not surprised or shocked. Unfortunately, in reality, these acts happen everywhere.”

Schmirer described what disturbs him the most:

“Multiple people could have been in the room when this happened, possibly laughing together as they saw the act being done. Additionally, some of those students could have felt uncomfortable approaching an adult and reporting the incident or stopping others from engaging in those acts.”

In the past, such actions of this magnitude were addressed only to the faculty, possibly reaching the Climate Committee students whose goal is to promote tolerance and awareness in the school community.

Schmirer, who is also the adviser for the Climate Committee, said that “information on such wrongful acts can now be exposed to students and reported to the public” through our school’s newly established medium, Wayland Student Press. He hopes that “new questions would come up in the community by doing so.”

Dan Cowen, co-president of the Climate Committee, expressed his opinion:

“Most of us at Wayland High School believe that our school is free of racism because these incidents don’t happen everyday; however, we must realize that [these incidents] have happened before, are happening now, and that they could happen again in the future.”

He further admonished, “Don’t sit by and watch something like this happen, but speak out and try to stop letting such actions unfold.”