Superintendent Tom Forcella addressed the vandalism at East Chapel Hill High School that happened on September 26 after the school board meeting Thursday night.
“The administration will dialogue with the students,” he said. “I think we also want to get a message across to all the students about the harm that this can cause.”
Profanity and homophobic slurs were spray painted on a building and parking lot signs at East Chapel Hill High School on September 26.
“It’s just a mean spirited act,” Forcella said. “Fortunately we were able to get it down right after it happened.”
The slur was written hours before the school’s Queer Straight Alliance club was supposed to meet to carpool to the North Carolina Pride Parade in Durham.
“I think the way to prevent it is to maybe do a better job educating our students,” he said.
Forcella said moving forward, the schools should continue to teach students about tolerance.
“This world includes all kinds of people,” he said. “We have to be accepting of other people’s views. Whether it be around race or gender or whatever the issue is, I think tolerance is something we probably need to do more teaching of directly to our students.”
Police are continuing to investigate the spray painting.
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Tolerance and acceptance are two very different things. Tolerance is a word that intimates that something is wrong with the group to be “tolerated.” Educate your students, support all student groups and EMBRACE all, rather than tolerate or accept. Perhaps some professional development for our admin and education for our students is appropriate here.