The Phoenix Volume 7 Issue 3

Page 1

The Opposing side of Affirmative Action see page 10

immigrant journeys see pages 6&7

Fremont’s rower twins see page 12 Fremont High School

the

PHOENIX

Vol. 7 Issue No. 3 Dec. 20, 2018

vandalism and hate Across fuhsd

FHS community responds with unity and action

by Caroline He Editor-in-Chief

On Friday, November 30, a vandal graffitied antisemitic and racist messages on the ground near the newly-opened A-building in Fremont High School and on the side of the library. Police have identified and apprehended the vandal as of Tuesday, December 4. The police found that there were several people involved with the graffiti, and the same people who graffitied the library and ground at FHS also vandalized a local fire station and Homestead High School. These events are also similar to ongoing incidents at HHS which are unrelated to the vandals in question, where racist and homophobic graffiti has appeared on the walls of the girls’ bathrooms. Surveys run by the HHS newspaper The Epitaph have also shown an increase in anti-Semitic and racist comments. These incidents at FHS and HHS also follow a national trend of increased hostility, particularly as indicated by the amount of hate crimes increasing. The United States has experienced a significant spike in hate crimes, particularly against Muslims, Jewish-Americans and African-Americans, in the last three years according to the FBI. In 2017, 59.6 percent of hate crimes were motivated by race or ethnicity and 20.6 percent were motivated by religion. One prominent and recent example of a hate crime of this nature is the mass shooting which occurred at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which killed 11 people. “Fortunately here at Fremont, I haven’t seen an increase in the frequency [in hate-motivated incidents],” FHS Principal Bryan Emmert said. “But when you look around at

what’s going on around the United States, I think we are seeing more of an increase. So it still concerns me that we have people in the community who would do these things.” While the graffiti is not as extreme of a hate crime as a mass shooting, in the context of local and national trends, it is troubling. “It didn’t seem like too many people cared at the moment, but I really cared,” FHS senior Edo Biluar said. “I made sure I found a Jewish student in my next class who I was friends with and talked to them about it, because I knew they would understand. They were confused, not really surprised because, as a Jewish person, we kind of expect this kind of thing once in a while in our lives.” Before it was found that the vandal was not a FHS student, other students were discouraged by the incident. “As a Jewish student at Fremont, I was disappointed that something like this happened, especially in light of recent anti-Semitic events happening in the United States and around the world,” FHS senior Sharon Roth said. “But I also know that Fremont as a whole is a pretty accepting community, and pretty diverse, so I know that this isn’t representative of most students here.” For the most part, many have brushed off the vandal as trying to be “edgy.” “I think it might be a combination of their own beliefs, and you know, wanting to get attention, wanting to get a reaction,”

Roth said. However, many students have not taken being ‘edgy’ as an excuse.

it still concerns me that we have people in the community who would do these things.

Bryan Emmert

“Being an African American student here at Fremont, the n-word is used all around campus, and I feel like that needs to stop,” Fremont senior LaTanya Lee said. “Like the n-word, people just use it as a joke… and it’s heartbreaking to some people if they use it or promote it in the wrong way. They use it as a joke. They use it to make fun of a race, or just be ‘cool’ because this is what all the ‘cool kids’ are doing. And that’s just wrong.” In general, most students want the vandals to be held accountable for their actions. “I [was] kind of surprised [by the graffiti] because I thought Fremont was better than that,” FHS sophomore Sabrin Abdi said. “I would like them to… take action against [the vandal], because usually they don’t do anything against people who say that.”

The graffiti was quickly removed on Monday, Dec. 3 after it was discovered. An announcement was made that day addressing the incident. “I think what the school did was pretty fine,” Biluar said. “They mentioned anti-Semitism and Judaism in their announcement which was nice, because I know they didn’t really last time. And I know they’re working with the police department to figure out who did it, and I liked what they did to the halls and the windows, saying that we support everyone.” As for students, maintaining a safe and welcoming atmosphere at FHS seems to be the best course of action. “I think the continuation of JSU (Jewish Student Union) events and having those being a safe space for Jewish people is fine,” Roth said. “I don’t think there needs to be a very big reaction to this.” The day after the vandalism was discovered, ASB decorated the windows of the cafeteria and the ground near the library with uplifting and affirming phrases such as

“Come together to spread love not hate!” and “We love you no matter what” in a response to the hateful nature of the graffiti. “Honestly I have no words to say, because it’s such a hateful thing and it should be stopped, and I’m glad that they found who it was, but at the same time, what’s going to prevent other kids from doing this as well?” Lee said. Further efforts are being made to strengthen the community at FHS through events like Challenge Day and programs like LINK. “The hope is, by having a stronger community, we’re less likely to have some of these outliers act in the way we see them act,” Emmert said. The news that the vandals are not Fremont students is a relief to most, but Emmert still urges students to maintain the friendly and accepting environment at

FHS. “I like our inclusive issues here,” Emmert said. “It’s not to say we don’t have problems, it’s not to say there aren’t issues where kids behave poorly to other kids, but on the whole, I stay consistently proud of the students here… I hope we continue to keep Fremont a place where views, backgrounds, anything that could make us different is valued as something that enriches our community, versus something that sets us apart.”

U.S Hate Crime Statistics Hate crimes Increased 17 percent from 2017 to 2018

10.5 percent of hate crimes occur at school

70 percent of hate crimes target race and religion Data from FBI Hate Crime Statistics, 2017


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