One-Inch Swastika Discovered At Suburban Chicago High School
Swastika graffiti was discovered and quickly removed from the lobby of Oak Park and River Forest High School in suburban Chicago, according to a statement released by the school on Monday. Image by Wikimedia Commons
A small sketch of a swastika was discovered on a window ledge in the lobby of a suburban Chicago high school and later removed, according to a Monday letter sent by the school’s superintendent.
A parent noticed the drawing at Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois and alerted a security staff member, who reported it to the buildings and grounds staff, according to a follow-up statement issued by the school on Tuesday.
Staff removed the “deeply offensive symbol of oppression and genocide,” school superintendent Dr. Joylynn Pruitt-Adams wrote in the Monday letter.
Even though there was a security camera nearby, the lobby is often crowded and the swastika was too small — roughly one inch — to discern when it was drawn, according to the Tuesday statement.
“Let us be clear: Hate has no place at Oak Park and River Forest High School,” Pruitt-Adams wrote in the letter. “We, as a school community, stand for respect and inclusion.”
Contact Erica Snow at snow@forward.com or on Twitter @ericasnoww.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
