Monday night’s State College Area School Board meeting saw an often emotional public comment period as community members expressed concerns about an assault involving two State College Area High School students, a racist and antisemitic photo that precipitated it and the subsequent handling of the incident.
The assault, which occurred on Feb. 1 inside the high school building and before the start of classes, allegedly stemmed from a photo “taken months ago” inside the school and containing “racist language and a symbol of hate and antisemitism,” SCASD Superintendent Bob O’Donnell wrote in a memo to the board. A video of the assault also has circulated online.
“We were absolutely not aware of the photo that was taken in the school. Not one faculty member or administrator was aware of that until after the assault,” O’Donnell said during the meeting. “Under no circumstances will we tolerate violence, racism or antisemitism in our schools. Any individuals committing such acts will be held accountable.”
Lorraine Jones, president of the State College NAACP, said whether they knew or not, the district bears some responsibility.
“If you didn’t know, shame on you. If you did know, shame on you,” Jones said. “It is your responsibility to keep these students safe. They should not have to go through this. They should not have to feel like they are hopeless. We are not asking nicely anymore for our kids’ dignity, respect and humanity. We are demanding it.”
Earlier on Monday, the State College NAACP started a GoFundMe for a 16-year-old Black student whom the organization says was charged with a felony and two misdemeanors following the altercation with a white student. The campaign has raised more than $8,000 to pay for the student’s legal fees as of Tuesday afternoon.
“For the last five months, this student has been harassed and targeted by a white youth who circulated pictures with Nazi insignia and the N-word on his right arm,” the fundraiser description alleges.
State College police Lt. Greg Brauser confirmed on Tuesday that a juvenile allegation has been filed with Centre County Juvenile Services but deferred further questions to the district attorney’s office. District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said his office does not comment on juvenile cases.
During Monday night’s public comment, one parent questioned why no adults were in the hallway at the time of the fight and suggested the district’s “divisive” diversity, equity and inclusion policies have “aggravated” racial tensions. Another suggested the district’s COVID-19 mask mandate takes away “accountability” for students because their faces aren’t seen.
But the nine other community members who spoke said the incident should never have ended up in the court system and that the district needs to do more to address longstanding issues of racism.
“We need to get serious and these disingenuous efforts that have been made for the school district, we need to get real,” Jones said. “We need to… rip off the Band-Aid and really talk about the real issues that are going on. We cannot have students being charged, a child being charged, with assault. This is not the first time we’ve been here. We’ve provided resources, we’ve provided testimonies, we’ve given documentation, documentaries and yet we are still here. We have got to change what we’re doing. It is not working. It is unacceptable for a child to be charged with assault.”
Tierra Williams, a Ferguson Township supervisor and chair of the 3/20 Coalition, said “the school did fail both of these students,” adding that the coalition never advocates for violence and stands against racism and white supremacy.
“We believe in restorative and equal justice. This is a prime example, though, of the school-to-prison pipeline where Black youth are criminalized more often than their white counterparts,” Williams said. “Both students should have received a maximum of five days out-of-school suspension and then be required to go through some sort of mediation or conference. However, that’s not the case. Instead one child is left with scars and the other child could be spending time behind bars.”
According to the NAACP GoFundMe, the white student “was not seriously injured.” The video shows the student standing up after being punched and kicked, though the extent of any injuries was not clear.
District policy calls for a minimum of five days of out-of-school suspension for both assault and harassment of any kind, including ethnic intimidation.
“As a school district, we also integrate an educational plan with every student who violates our code of conduct because our core mission relates to their future success,” O’Donnell said. “It’s our standard practice, in addition to holding students accountable for their actions. It includes a restorative approach that provides opportunities for students to repair harm caused. That’s a collaborative approach with families.”
O’Donnell explained that any altercation the occurs in school is documented by the school resource officer, who is a State College police officer but is not involved in determining charges. The district conducts its own separate investigation, and that is not used by police to decide on charges either. Whether charges are filed is up to the victim and the police department.
Ferguson Township resident Leslie Laing said she appreciates “the efforts for transparency and accountability,” related to issues in the district.
“I certainly hope that the district will enhance their level of advocacy to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the lives of the two minors are not lost in the criminal justice system, when the situation could have been handled without prosecution,” Laing said. “I do not condone violence and I would hope that the SCASD community would not use a single offense to destroy the lives of any of our 16-year-old children. We need to promote healing connection and belonging.
Several residents commended the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion work to date and urged that it persist for the long-term benefit of the school community.
“All of our students are children of this community deserving of the best education and learning environment we can provide. Even those who make mistakes or do something wrong,” State College resident Tina Hennessey said. “The research and evidence affirms that work to address issues of equity and to move toward restorative justice reduces violence in schools over the long term. We know that. We must stay the course, even when it’s hard, and especially when it’s hard.”
Lori Miraldi, of Ferguson Township, said those efforts are necessary to show what problems exist before they can be solved.
“This work has not created new divisions in our school community. These divisions have already existed,” Miraldi said. “Our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have illuminated these existing divisions and we cannot improve unless we see our problems. It’s vital that we acknowledge our issues as a community so we can work to do better. Ignoring problems is never an effective strategy for lasting positive change. Improving the equity and belonging in our district is not quick or easy work. It’s work that takes long term commitment by our community.”
Terry Watson, speaking on behalf of Campus & Community in Unity, said civil discourse is needed to address conflict and that the incident provides an opportunity to practice civility and restorative justice.
“We believe that mediation, transparency and restorative justice provides an opportunity for the entire SCASD community to foster change in behavior in order to cultivate an environment of healing, inclusiveness and reconciliation, rather than one of divisive and resentment,” Watson said. “CCU plans on continuing and contributing to this conversation to better our community and ensure our children have a place to learn where they can feel safe, feel like they belong and be free from harassment harm and trauma.”
The issue was also a topic of conversation across town at Monday night’s State College Borough Council meeting.
Mayor Ezra Nanes addressed the matter by stressing the importance of creating a culture “where it is clear that hate symbols, hate speech are not acceptable in any form.”
“Language can be a form of violence and there is an implicit threat contained in certain words and symbols, which I will not repeat now,” Nanes said. “It’s up to all of us, every last one of us, to create that culture so we can avoid situations where anyone feels so threatened that they have to physically defend themselves. When and if that ever does happen we must have a just approach to dealing with the situation.”
Added Borough Council President Jesse Barlow, “I think incidents like the one we just heard of, we need to resolve them in ways that are just and not punitive.”
O’Donnell said he is “not proud of what transpired” at the high school and that the district is working to further address the issues raised by the incident.
“In the coming days and weeks, our high school will prioritize facilitating conversations within the State High community to work toward further preventing acts of bias and hate and improving our school climate,” he wrote in his memo to the board. “Additionally, we will continue offering educational sessions to inform K-12 parents and families on ways they can monitor their child’s social media usage, as this provides a critical resource within our school community.”
