Racist graffiti found scrawled in Radnor High School bathroom
RADNOR, Pa. (WPVI) -- A racist message discovered inside a bathroom at Radnor High School is prompting concern among parents, students and staff.
School district officials say the discovery was made Wednesday.
The message read: "Kill all the n******." The graffiti was photographed and then erased.
Radnor Police Supt. Bill Colarulo told Action News police were not notified about the incident, which he said could be considered a hate crime.
A school district spokesman did not know why police had not been contacted.
"We will investigate this thoroughly and contact police if necessary," the spokesman told Action News by phone.
Students and parents told Action News they were upset that someone would write a message like that at a school that prides itself on its diversity.
"It's Black History Month," said student Cyrus Darvish. "And it's just affecting my principal, Mr. Schellenger, and just the general school society."
"Radnor has a lot of great people. But I think for this to happen - I know that I expected bad people, but I didn't expect this kind of situation," said student Jerry Zhou.
High school principal Mark Schellenger sent an email to parents after the graffiti was discovered, saying he planned to address the matter with the school's 1,174 students in an assembly.
His email read, in part: "Radnor High School and the district as a whole condemn any and all messages that promote hate and intolerance. I will reiterate that messages or behavior of this sort is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
Students expressed concern the incident could tarnish the school's image.
"It's a very diverse place, people from a lot of different cultures come here," said Zhou. "We had a similar incident last year. I think it was the same kind of insult."
At least one parent we spoke with called the incident disturbing.
"It's not good," said Kurosh Darvish. "But I think it's important to talk to students and get them informed about these things and how bad these things are."
