Lassiter principal: Anti-Semitic graffiti found in restrooms

Lassiter High School graduation rate

The principal at Lassiter High School informed his school community Wednesday afternoon that anti-Semitic graffiti was found earlier this week in restrooms.

In a message that went out to Lassiter families, Dr. Chris Richie said that swastikas and “Heil Hitler” were found scrawled in two restrooms, similar to what happened last week at nearby Pope High School.

“In both locations, the deplorable symbols and language were behind stall doors,” Richie wrote in a letter that has been posted on the Lassiter PTSA Facebook page.

He said the discovery was the result of an organized effort that began Monday to monitor student activity, especially in restrooms, following the Pope incident.

Richie said Lassiter restrooms have been checked on an almost hourly basis during the school day, and that school officials are reviewing video footage and conducting an active investigation into the anti-Semitic messages. The Lassiter resource officer also has filed a report.

“I am both angered and saddened by the appearance of symbols and words of hatred in our school and community,” Richie wrote. He added:

“When hate and ignorance surface in our school, we ask that parents engage in meaningful conversations and dialogue with your children. I can cite the Cobb County School District’s Administrative Rule that these hate symbols/speech violate, and I can talk to students in the morning over the announcements about repercussions for this despicable act; however, for these disgusting acts to stop, we must all come together as a school and a community to commit that Lassiter High School will be a safe, respectful environment for all students, faculty, and staff. We must work together to teach our students to be better.”

The Lassiter letter comes as Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, begins, lasting from sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Cobb Board of Education announced it was delaying its scheduled monthly meetings on Thursday by a week in observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Both Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb, who visited with Pope students, and the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta said the Cobb County School District response to the Pope incident was insufficient.

The ADL issued a particularly scathing statement, saying the school board’s recent decision to ban Critical Race Theory “could tie their hands in responding to and countering incidents of hate through educational initiatives for the school community.”