Framingham school responds to anti-Semitism
Two students at the Christa McAuliffe Charter School in Framingham, MA recently created a Snapchat group named “Kill the jews,” according to an Oct. 16 Boston Globe article.
Members of the group made anti-Semitic statements that included threats and slurs, per an Oct. 13 article in the Framingham Source.
In response, the school’s students and faculty “participated in grade-level safety meetings,” and “students learned about the incident, had a chance to ask questions, and began to consider ways to take a stand against hatred and build the most trusting, safe, and inclusive community that we can,” according to a statement the school released on Oct. 15.
Framingham Mayor Yvonne M. Spicer released a statement on Oct. 16 saying, “ENOUGH! I’ve had enough! You should be fed up too! I’m angry! I’m disappointed, and I’m exhausted with the constant attacks on our residents. We will not stand for this any longer!” Later in the statement, Spicer added, “We, as a community, need to stand together to combat this hate. We must call out those who wish to live in a world inhabited only by people who think and look like them.” She continued, “We are better than that in the City of Framingham. We must make unacceptable behavior unacceptable.”
The school later released a statement on Oct. 18 that said, “Following the anti-Semitic social media communication that two of our students engaged in last weekend, the Christa McAuliffe Charter School has received countless messages of support from individuals in our immediate and extended communities.” The statement also said that the school is looking to start a conversation on how to prevent similar incidents in the future by examining “When, where, and how are we educating our public school students about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism prior to high school?”
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