Burlingame High School target of hate-motivated vandalism
School Plant Operator Employee Victor Delaplaine removes the swastika from a banner.
September 6, 2019
Facilities Engineer George Reyes arrived at school Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 a.m. to discover vandalism containing anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist messages on the walls of several buildings. Reyes immediately notified the administration and local police. When the maintenance crew arrived at around 7 a.m., Police Officer Liaison Steve Vega and Principal Paul Belzer were already at the school.
There were an estimated ten to fifteen distinct sites of vandalism across campus, which maintenance workers described as a “severe” case. When students arrived at school before first period, they reported seeing anti-Semitic and bigoted symbols and phrases on the walls, such as swastikas, anarchist symbols and racial slurs.
The vandalism was first covered up by black posters to “keep student experience as normal as possible,” according to Principal Belzer. District procedure mandates that all district painters report to a school in the case of vandalism, giving the normal morning maintenance staff an additional three painters to help cover the graffiti. The vandalism was painted over and the posters were removed by the beginning of brunch at 9:21 a.m. A second coat was added to ensure that no remnants of the graffiti were visible.
The school is currently working with the Burlingame Police Department to identify the responsible individual(s). A “substantial reward” is being offered for any information regarding the incident and who may be responsible for this, according to a public announcement made by Belzer this morning.
A public forum held at lunch allowed students to voice their concerns and feelings about the hate-motivated incident. The school counselors were available all day for students to drop by if extra support was needed, and Principal Belzer has met with various groups of concerned students.
“The district has considered more significant surveillance cameras … We prioritize making our schools safe and try to have a lens of equity for all students to make sure all of our students feel safe,” Belzer said.
While there is no concrete plan on how to move forward from this situation, the district is considering many options. The administration says that there will be more solid news in the coming days.
Black poster paper was used to cover the graffitti until maintenance workers could paint over it.
BHS staff worked hard to make sure the hateful graffiti was covered up before most students showed up to school.
Sad • Sep 6, 2019 at 10:06 pm
First off excellent article. Secondly it’s really sad this has happened in btown
Charlotte Petri • Sep 6, 2019 at 7:56 pm
I’m sorry that BHS students had to experience hate-filled graffiti on their campus. Anti-semitism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny and all other anti-any human differences are repugnant and disgusting. However, you can flip this event on its head and make the perps less likely to do this again.
Have the principal announce that BHS will donate $ to the ACLU (or another non-profit working against discrimination. Get students and their families and other sympathetic residents to donate a specific amount of $ anytime incidents of hate, discrimination, bigotry or other ignorance & intolerance happen; BHS will collect the pledges from the community and send the $ to organizations fighting discrimination.
If the perps have any sense of logic they will stop their vandalism because it is helping the other side. Of course, they may be too ignorant or self-absorbed to see beyond the immediate gratification that comes with spreading hate. If that’s the case, get out the super cameras to catch the thugs but keep those pledges coming in until the vandalism ends.
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Phil Hartlaub • Sep 6, 2019 at 7:50 pm
Hoping vandals can be found and can be influenced to be good citizens of this country.
Susan Dirksen • Sep 6, 2019 at 7:49 pm
Does BHS have cameras monitoring the campus ?
Jean Flanagan • Sep 6, 2019 at 6:38 pm
Excellent article. I hope every student at Burlingame High School is aware of how offensive this behavior is to our community. The ignorant people who indulge in this offensive behavior should receive multiple hours of community service so they learn the value of contributing to the community instead of tearing people down. How very sad these people are so insecure they have to resort to such destructive behavior. What misguided thinking makes them think they are superior to anyone. There is room at BHS for everyone.