Swastika graffiti discovered at Bates Elementary

By Sarah Thomas, Town Correspondent

Graffiti of a swastika was found inside a slide in Wellesley's Bates Elementary playground, prompting school officials to correspond with police, parents, and the Anti-Defamation League, and to discuss tolerance with students.

The graffiti was discovered on October 26, said Wellesley police lieutenant Marie Cleary.

"It appeared to be old when it was first reported, and someone had already tried to scratch it out," Cleary said. "It looked to be written with a blue ballpoint pen."

According to Wellesley superintendent Bella Wong, the school district's response was similar to their response in other instances of graffiti on school property.

"We report to the police, and use it as an occasion to speak with parents and kids," Wong said. "In this case, we also contacted officials from the Ant-Defamation League because of the nature of the graffiti."

Wong said the school district is hoping for information from anyone who might know who placed the graffiti. Cleary said that the police department is not investigating the case.

"Unfortunately, the school is surrounded by a number of athletic fields, making it difficult to narrow down the list of people who might have been responsible for the graffiti," Cleary said. "Lots of people have access to the playground, both during and outside of school hours."

Derrek Shulman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he was notified of the graffiti by both the school district and by concerned parents and a local synagogue.

"We've been dealing with incidents like this for 97 years," Shulman said. "We encourage school leadership to have an age-appropriate discussion about tolerance and respect, and to teach its students how to respond in a safe and empowering manner if they see incidents like this happening in the future."

Wong said that Bates Elementary's principal, Michael Spencer, had spoken to students about tolerance and appropriate behavior shortly after the graffiti was reported. A series of emails Spencer exchanged with Bates parents explained that students up to grade 2 would participate in a general discussion about tolerance, while students in grades 3 -5 would specifically discuss the meaning of the swastika.

"As a community, it is important that we join together to confront such attempts to disrupt our respect for all individuals. Such incidents can either work to shake our values
or harden our resolve," Spencer said in one of the emails. "I have great confidence that, at Bates, it will be the latter."

Shulman said the ADL approved of Spencer's response.

"Everything the school leadership has done has been right," Shulman said. "We are encouraged and believe they will follow up on their discussions."

Earlier this year, school officials reported two instances of offensive graffiti at Wellesley High School, including a racist slur in a boys bathroom.

Sarah Thomas can be reached at sarah.m.thomas@gmail.com.