Lakeville student will be disciplined after racist, anti-Semitic graffiti found in bathroom
A student is being disciplined after racist and anti-Semitic graffiti was scrawled on bathroom stalls at Lakeville South High School.
Lynnae Linnell, whose son goes to Lakeville, posted photos of the graffiti to Facebook Monday, which show a swastika with the words "Hail the Ku Klux Klan" and a drawing of a lynching.
"He shouldn't have to see or experience anything when he's going to school trying to have an education," Linnell told MPR News, noting her son is biracial.
In a statement on the school's website, it said the student will face disciplinary action, but it can't comment further.
"We take these matters seriously and strive to create a safe, welcoming environment for all students in our schools. Our maintenance staff has begun work to repair the damage and we will use this as a teachable moment where possible," the statement said.
Uptick in anti-Semitism
There’s been an uptick in anti-Semitism and hate crimes in both the United States and the world recently, especially in the wake of the presidential election, advocacy groups have said.
On Monday – the same day the graffiti was discovered at Lakeville South – there were bomb threats made at several Jewish Community Centers and day schools across the country. This marked the fifth day of bomb threats (totaling 100 incidents) that have been made towards 81 locations over the past two months, the JCC Association of North America said in a statement Monday.
There have been recent incidents in Minnesota over the past few months too. Among them: bomb threats made to two JCCs, anti-Semitic and racist graffiti at the University of Minnesota, as well as at local high schools and on people's homes.
The JCC Association is urging federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers, to "speak out – and speak out forcefully – against this scourge of anti-Semitism impacting communities across the country."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday called the recent wave of vandalism and bomb threats serious, unacceptable behavior, CBS News reports. President Donald Trump has also commented on the threats, calling them "horrible." CNN reports the FBI is investigating the bomb threats at the JCCs as hate crimes.
The FBI tracks hate crimes, and it released its 2015 stats last fall, saying hate crimes rose from 5,479 in 2014 to 5,850 in 2015. It’s worth noting, though, that hate crimes reported in 2013 were slightly higher than 2015, with 5,928 reported crimes.
