Spring Break
High school vandalized with racial slurs, graffiti
Tara Pringle
Issue date: 3/16/07 Section: News
Originally published: 3/16/07 at 12:37 AM EST Last update: 3/16/07 at 12:37 AM EST
Theodore Roosevelt High school staff arrived at the school early yesterday morning to discover confederate flags and racial slurs spray-painted up and down the hallway.
A cafeteria worker discovered the graffiti at about 6 a.m. and notified school administrators about the incident.
Teachers, custodians and a few students arrived early to scrub the profanities off the walls before the rest of the students arrived, although some evidence of the vandalism still remains. A poster was placed over a confederate flag that wouldn't come off, and a blue smudge still remains on the wall above the lockers.
In addition to the vandalism, a teacher's personal computer was reported stolen from the same hallway.
Instead of first period, students were directed to go to the auditorium where principal Roger Sidoti informed the students of the incidents that had taken place the night before, said Marc Crail, superintendent of Kent City Schools.
"This is so atypical for our student body," Crail said. "I've been with the district 14 years and I've never seen anything like this."
Crail said some areas would need to be repainted. Administrators are reviewing security camera tapes to see if any clues can be found.
"Within the next few days, we should have an answer," Crail said.
Some students say they now feel uncomfortable.
"It's scary for us," senior Chanel McLaughlin said. "It's hard to figure out who did it."
"No one knows how they got into the school," freshman Ashley Johnson said. "Why didn't the alarms go off?"
Contact public affairs reporter Tara Pringle at tmpringl@kent.edu.
A cafeteria worker discovered the graffiti at about 6 a.m. and notified school administrators about the incident.
Teachers, custodians and a few students arrived early to scrub the profanities off the walls before the rest of the students arrived, although some evidence of the vandalism still remains. A poster was placed over a confederate flag that wouldn't come off, and a blue smudge still remains on the wall above the lockers.
In addition to the vandalism, a teacher's personal computer was reported stolen from the same hallway.
Instead of first period, students were directed to go to the auditorium where principal Roger Sidoti informed the students of the incidents that had taken place the night before, said Marc Crail, superintendent of Kent City Schools.
"This is so atypical for our student body," Crail said. "I've been with the district 14 years and I've never seen anything like this."
Crail said some areas would need to be repainted. Administrators are reviewing security camera tapes to see if any clues can be found.
"Within the next few days, we should have an answer," Crail said.
Some students say they now feel uncomfortable.
"It's scary for us," senior Chanel McLaughlin said. "It's hard to figure out who did it."
"No one knows how they got into the school," freshman Ashley Johnson said. "Why didn't the alarms go off?"
Contact public affairs reporter Tara Pringle at tmpringl@kent.edu.
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