Hate Symbols Appear At Ossining High School

OSSINING, NY — A swastika and a racial slur were found scrawled on a bathroom wall at Ossining High School Thursday. Police are assisting the school district with an investigation.

Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg issued a statement:

We are horrified to hear that symbols of hate, including a swastika and a racial slur, appeared in Ossining High School today. We have a community that works every day to celebrate all that we share, but also the differences that make our world that much more interesting and rich. As a child of a Holocaust survivor, I know what these symbols represent--in my case the loss of my great grandfather who was herded like cattle to a concentration camp where he met his death, simply because of how he worshiped. These symbols and others like them are triggers that hold so much meaning for the people who have been directly impacted by hate crimes. They are not funny, they are not edgy or cool. They represent the worst of humanity. In Ossining, all our many cultures, religions, skin colors, languages and choices make us the desirable place to live that we are. We need everyone to help stop this madness of propagating symbols and messages of hate in our communities. We will not tolerate this behavior. We must come together to put an end to it and instead to get the word out that all are welcome here. To that end, the Town has committed to partner with the Village and work closely with other community organizations including the NAACP and houses of worship to form a task force focused on educating our entire community about these symbols and their impacts. We will be announcing more details about this group in the coming weeks.
The Ossining Police will be working closely with the Ossining Schools to fully investigate this incident. If you have any information to contribute to the investigation, please contact the Ossining Police at (914) 941-4099. Calls to the police can be anonymous.

On behalf of the Town Board,
Dana Levenberg, Town Supervisor