Never in my school, I thought. Never would I have to be the one who enters a school where there has recently been anti-semitic graffiti. What I thought was a “never” situation changed this past Thursday, Nov. 13. After I opened my phone around 5:20 p.m., I came across an email from Dr. Warren Hynes, stating there was inappropriate graffiti found in bathroom stalls at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.
“A student reported both anti-Semitic and racist graffiti in one of the high school bathroom stalls,” Hynes said via email. “In addition, we found homophobic graffiti in another stall.”
The events that I have always heard about at other schools had finally reached mine, and I was, in a way, shocked. Not shocked because I thought I lived in a problem-free world, but shocked because I never thought that my school would be the one in the headlines. The spinner has finally landed on my community, in my school.
Being a proud Jewish-American in an ever so changing world, this was the first time I personally have ever really been impacted by local anti-semitism. While I still feel safe and proud to be Jewish when walking around my school’s halls, I now know in the back of my head that there are people who do not want me to be here.
Of course I knew this beforehand, but it had never really come across my mind. With ravaging protests and movements against the Jewish people and the state of Israel, it is naive to think that this wave would not reach me at my high school. As much as I knew it was coming though, it hit me like a blindside block.
Even now writing this, a weird feeling sits in my gut. Not a feeling of anger or sadness but a feeling of hope and opportunity. As a school and as a community, we should not let this hate weigh us down but push us forward. With the vast amounts of student organizations and clubs that SPFHS offers, it is time for us to work together to spread information and fight misinformation.
The Black Student Union, Jewish Student Union and the Sexuality and Gender Acceptance club, who were most directly affected by these events, can join hands and work to build a better school community. As student leaders, we cannot let this hate speech win. Turning against one another and making a certain group the villain would only set us back in time.
We need to learn from this country’s history, and not create an even larger conflict from our dividedness. Our school has preemptively taken the first steps to this goal, launching an interest meeting for “Not in Our School.” This program works towards creating initiatives against bullying, hate speech and discrimination.
The “Not in Our School” program is a perfect example of what we need to be doing as a school community to combat these events. While yes, I do know this was not the first time graffiti like this has been found at SPFHS, but as a current junior, this is the first time myself and my class has experienced it first hand.
Everyone will have different feelings, emotions and concerns that arise with these events and that is okay. We need to be accepting, and not belittle anyone or their opinions but sit down and have a real conversation.
– Jonah Leske, Sports Editor, Class of 2026 Vice President, Proud Jewish-American
