Maple Grove School Investigating Racist, Pro-Trump Graffiti
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Vandals at a Twin Cities high school included the president-elect's name in racist graffiti in a bathroom.
"Trump" was written along with "whites only" and "white America." A more vulgar message was also included.
Students say they now worry about going to class.
"I'm terrified," Junior Moses Karngbaye said.
"I don't feel comfortable to be honest," Junior Atep Ndip said.
The Maple Grove Senior High School students worry after finding graffiti in a school bathroom stall.
"I went in and looked on the bathroom door and honestly was in shock. That's the first time I honestly felt like crying at school," Karngbaye said.
Karngbaye found words written on the toilet paper dispenser. The vandal also used an expletive with the "n-word," and other racist terms, on the bathroom stall.
"I just walked back to class with my head down, I was like I can't believe people actually took the time out of their day to write something this offensive,"Karngbaye said.
He sent his mom pictures.
"All you 'N' go back to Africa,' you know, 'Now the white people are going to take over,'" Denise Karngbaye said.
She calls the attack personal.
"I train my kids to respect everybody, regardless of their race, their ethnicity, their background," Denise Karyngbaye said.
"I hope they just find who did this appropriate action is taken for whoever did this," Ndip said.
A representative for Osseo Area Schools provided this statement:
"The tweet you may have seen of a racist message scrawled in a school bathroom is real and we are horrified by it. It goes against everything we stand for, and it is completely contrary to our core values as a district and individual schools.
School leaders immediately launched an investigation into the incident, and they will take swift and appropriate action based on the investigation findings. They will work very hard to identify who did this horrible act and to determine how they can support the students and staff who have been affected by it.
Every day, in all of our schools, we seek to provide a safe and respectful learning and working environment for every student and employee. Racist messages like the one found in today endanger the safety of our students and staff of color, and they create a climate that is not conducive to learning.
We are very concerned about our students, staff and families who have been affected by this incident. We want to assure every student and employee that we are committed to their safety and well-being.
This incident is additional evidence of the pressing need in our schools, our community and our nation to find ways to talk about race constructively and respectfully. Over the past several years, we have been learning and practicing language that helps us engage in these conversations when we need them most, in order to interrupt racism.
We are committed to ensuring safe and respectful schools. We will work hard to heal the negative impact that this incident has had on school culture and climate, and on every member of our school family."
