St. Paul's school in Concord, N.H., is a top college preparatory academy.
(Cheryl Senter for The Boston Globe)
CONCORD, N.H. - Security remains tight on the tree-lined campus of St. Paul's School as police continued to investigate threatening letters mailed last week to most of the prep school's black students, an apparent hate crime that has unsettled the elite institution.
Concord police and school security are methodically patrolling the campus of the private boarding school in a show of heightened vigilance following the receipt of the anonymous letters, which St. Paul's rector denounced as threatening hate mail. The identical letters, which were sent to most, if not all, of the approximately 40 black students at St. Paul's, included each student's photo from the campus facebook and the words "bang bang get out of here," students said.
This weekend, students continued their normal routines, walking across well-kept courtyards to grab coffee and breakfast at a campus cafe. But some acknowledged they are uneasy over the threats given previous outbursts of violence on college campuses, including the recent shootings at Northern Illinois University, in which a former student killed five students and wounded 16 others before killing himself.
Two students left St. Paul's temporarily after receiving the letters, which the head of the school described as an attack on the community.
The increased patrols are scheduled to continue until spring break begins next week, said a school spokeswoman, Jana Brown. Law enforcement and school officials are treating the mailed threats as genuine, she said.
"We are taking the matter with the utmost seriousness," Brown said. "But our students are being well cared for and supported by the St. Paul's community, and we have full confidence in the efforts of the Concord police detectives heading up the investigation."
St. Paul's, a top college preparatory school whose graduates often go on to the Ivy League and other upper-tier colleges, has 524 students in grades 9-12, 34 percent of whom are members of minority groups. Eight percent are African-American, according to the school's fact sheet. Fourteen percent are Asian, and 6 percent are Latino.
In the past decade, St. Paul's expanded its financial aid program to attract more lower-income applicants. More than one-third of students receive assistance, with an average award of more than $28,000, to help defray the school's $43,000 annual cost.
St. Paul's, which is affiliated with the Episcopal Church, requires all students to live on campus. Its 2,000 acres of woodlands, fields, and ponds, about 1 1/2 miles from downtown Concord, has a classic, collegiate feel. Notable graduates include publisher William Randolph Hearst, cartoonist Garry Trudeau, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, and Senator John F. Kerry.
State and federal law enforcement officials, as well as the US Postal Service, are investigating, police said. The letters were first reported Thursday in The
Only black students received the letters, which were addressed by name and arrived in students' post office boxes Tuesday, Brown said. The letters were sent from nearby Manchester, N.H. The photos were from a yearly student directory widely available on campus, students said.
Many students yesterday said that although they suspected the letters were a hoax, they were still relieved by the additional security measures.
"Most people think it's just a prank, but I guess you never know for sure," said a female student, who declined to give her name because school officials had instructed students not to speak to the media. "I'm glad they're out here, just in case."
Police yesterday declined to comment on the progress of the investigation, citing the ongoing nature of the probe. On a regional tip line website, Concord authorities are asking for the public's assistance with the crime, which they said is "being taken very seriously and is being vigorously investigated."
In a letter to parents, which was also posted on the school's website, William R. Matthews Jr., the head of the school, said several students told their advisers about the letters shortly after receiving them. The school notified parents, then postponed assignments and called an all-school assembly Tuesday evening to explain the investigation and increased campus security.
"It appears, at this time, that students of color were the target of these threatening communications," Matthews wrote. "The faculty, staff, and I are deeply saddened by this affront to our community. It is an outrage, and while only some were threatened directly, we all have been wounded by this. I shared with your children this evening that, unfortunately, there is hatred in our world. Some of that hatred arrived on our doorstep today. I am confident, however, that the loving and supportive qualities of this community are stronger than that hatred, and will prevail."
Students interviewed Saturday agreed, saying there was no racial tension on campus and that the incident had brought many students closer together. Some criticized the media for not respecting students' privacy during a difficult time, and said the incident was isolated and not newsworthy.
"The mood has been really supportive," Brown said. "It's a very close-knit community."
In downtown Concord Saturday, some residents noted that the threats were part of an alarming trend in schools. In the past few days, a Concord High School custodian was jailed after allegedly threatening to blow up the school, and a high school student in Manchester was jailed for allegedly threatening a Columbine-type shooting. In Massachusetts, four Mashpee High School students face felony charges for making false bomb threats earlier this month, and a former Marshfield High School student was recently sentenced to nine months in prison for plotting an assault at the school. "Schools aren't as safe as they used to be," said Concord resident Janice Neal, 46.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
