'Whites Only' Sign Placed Above School Water Fountain

ROSWELL, GA — A Roswell High School student has been disciplined for placing racist signs above water fountains after photos of the display spread rapidly on social media. In a letter shared Friday, Principal Dr. Robert Shaw said the two signs were placed above two water fountains.

One sign, which read "Whites Only," was taped on the wall above one fountain while another outlining "Others" was added to the area above the other fountain. The signs, Dr. Shaw said, were each handwritten on notebook paper.

Dr. Shaw said he was notified by another student of the discovery and immediately contacted the school police officer. The cop was able to obtain video surveillance footage to identify the student who posted the signs (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here).

"While we were investigating this incident, the picture was posted to social media and very quickly came to the attention of many Roswell students and parents," Dr. Shaw said.

After the student was identified and asked about the incident, the principal said the student admitted "he had hung the signs and stated that it was a 'joke'."

"I made it very clear to the student that this type of behavior was not a joke and would not be tolerated at Roswell High School," Dr. Shaw said. "I also made it clear to the student that these signs were very offensive and were counter to the culture of inclusion that we support at Roswell."

That student's parents were contacted about the incident, and the student was disciplined according to policies outlined in the Fulton County School System's Code of Conduct.

Dr. Shaw, who was principal at Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs before coming to Roswell in July 2017, ended his letter by apologizing for the "vulgar display" above the water fountains at Roswell High School.

"I can assure the Roswell community that this type of behavior is unacceptable, not only to the leadership at our school but our students as well," he added. "Throughout my first year at Roswell High, I have seen many examples of how our students respect the rich diversity of our school and care about each other.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns."

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