Does anybody know the incident recently happened in Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the meantime...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/student-discovers-swastika-in-bathroom-at-bannockburn-elementary-school/?fbclid=IwAR3W1dUgR-qbHhRrO0ZCWJxvBec-OjSCCa72fOXKVVEkghop8o0VIe6Wxp8

Here's the Bethesda Magazine round up of recent antisemitic incidents in MCPS. What is going on?

[Anonymous]

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/swastika-found-in-bannockburn-elementary-bathroom/

sorry here is the link

[Anonymous]

What happened at today’s school meeting?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the kid(s) involved have either come forward or have been identified. The Administration is on top of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like the kid(s) involved have either come forward or have been identified. The Administration is on top of it.

Alumni email today said they were still trying to ascertain their identities so I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like the kid(s) involved have either come forward or have been identified. The Administration is on top of it.

Alumni email today said they were still trying to ascertain their identities so I don't think so.

That was sent before the end of the school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another school having a similar problem with Kahoot, and steps they took to address such as requiring students to open Kahoot account for admins. https://thesagonline.com/19812/news/administration-investigates-offensive-inappropriate-usernames-on-kahoot/

Also gross!!

[Anonymous]

The alleged Native American slur was actually the handle of a south Asian student “savageindian”

Our dc did not know what the Asian slur was.

Regardless, the swastikas should lead to immediate expulsion, especially since this is their third time they have appeared on the US campus this school year

[Anonymous]

I like that they notified the parents the same day it happened and then also sent another email to their alumni.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell is notorious amongst parents for having an impossible to predict discipline policy..even the student handbook leaves the actual consequences essentially up for customization...while often cited as a source for "the rules" when discipline does occur...the handbook is used as needed, when convenient to cite, by administrators who make up the consequences for kids on a case by case basis. Is that a good thing? Not sure. As a Sidwell parent I have seen the school mostly make good calls when it comes to discipline I have heard about--- but I have also seen countless instances where prominent parents' kids act out or kids of families associated with the Board act out, and the school goes much lighter on those kids. This is especially the case when the acting out happens on digital or social media which is a domain the school essentially has no articulated policy or training for kids on. Sometimes they address issues when bullying or sexting occurs on social media, usually they don't..it all kind of depends...it doesn't feel like a safe environment in this respect.

The heads of middle and upper school respectively do not have strong leadership skills or policy on this...it is a common complaint..If you ask kids at Sidwell what the discipline policy is in Middle School or in Upper School, they simply can not tell you. I hope this incident propels the administration of the school to start acting with consistency and clarity so kids stop feeling they are on unfair playing fields when some kids get disciplined for acts others are ignored for--and so kids can know with clarity what the consequences are for various forms of bad behavior.

Ah, because if the hate was towards hispanics you would understand....
this comment with respect to discipline in the middle school seems accurate. however it's *not* at all accurate with respect to the upper school. we are new to the upper school, and there are very clear policies about behavior, and the school leaders seem to adhere to that. (ie there is a point system, and students are allocated points for lateness, rudeness, skipping class etc, and once you reach a certain number of points, then you have silent study hall during lunch time for a week, etc.). it's a very consistent, clear system and seems to work.

however this incident is so serious that I would assume it would have far greater disciplinary response. as a parent, I would like follow up from Bryan on whether they find those who did this and would like to hear about the punishment. our freshman became aware only of the swastikas in the user name and wasn't aware of any user names regarding Asian or Native Americans. evidently it all happened fast and there was gasping and stunned silence and an abrupt end of the presentation. the presentation was being given by a student about his service project and he was apparently quite devastated. students, parents, faculty, admin are all dismayed. it's very upsetting that this happened.

Just curious, what words were used in the usernames against Asian/Native Americans?

I don’t even understand where hatred for Asians, Native Americans or Jews comes from - especially from a young person.
Aren’t some of these people their classmates as well? So they have no regard for their own classmates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I'm naive but I can't believe there are key board icons of swastikas even available.

It’s a common Buddhist icon/character you are in Korea, Japan, and china so not surprised it’s potentially available.

Also, there's this from the article:

“It was big on the screen,” the senior said. “Everyone went quiet. ... A swastika is not something that you have in your emojis on your phone. You have to go out of your way to search for a GIF or something, copy it and paste it into Kahoot.”

If users can use gifs in their names, that seems ripe for trouble. Heading into it, I would have been more worried about boobs than racist symbol and names, though. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The alleged Native American slur was actually the handle of a south Asian student “savageindian”

Our dc did not know what the Asian slur was.

Regardless, the swastikas should lead to immediate expulsion, especially since this is their third time they have appeared on the US campus this school year

And the Asian slur and Native American slur shouldn't lead to immediate expulsion? What???

[Anonymous]

The Huffington Post article is titled "Swastikas Show Up At Sidwell Friends School, Bastion Of Progressivism"

Because Asian and Native American slurs are just a sidenote.

[Anonymous]

It was a student run presentation. How were 16 year olds supposed to know one of their school mates would be that much of a loser a$$hat?

Yes, going forward, all schools are going to have to vet the software students use for presentations and likely will need to collect MAC and IP information from every device every student uses on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Huffington Post article is titled "Swastikas Show Up At Sidwell Friends School, Bastion Of Progressivism"

Because Asian and Native American slurs are just a sidenote.

After review, there were no Asian or Native American slurs. But there was a Swastika.