Trouble at Tosa West Bubblers

Students routinely disrespect and deface school property.

Unless the damage is major, such incidents usually don't make headlines.

What makes this case newsworthy is the racial element of the vandalism.

Wauwatosa -- School officials at West High School are trying to determine who scrawled "whites only" and "coloreds only" on two side-by-side water fountains on the second floor of the high school Thursday morning.

The incident came to light shortly before noon, according to district spokesman Chris Preisler. He said the phrases -- similar to those that were widely used on public facilities such as water fountains, restrooms and restaurant entrances in the South prior to integration -- were written in marker on the stainless steel backwash portion of the fountains.

...Administrators had building custodians remove the phrases from the fountains. He said the incident upset some students and that administrators made counselors available for any students who felt they needed to speak to one. An announcement on the matter was made over the public announcement system at the end of the day.

Preisler said school officials will discipline whoever is responsible for scrawling the racially offensive terms on the water fountains.

What a really stupid thing to do!

The kid responsible for the vandalism (assuming it was a student and not a staff member) not only did damage to school property but also made a terribly insensitive racial statement.

I can understand why students would be upset by the graffiti. If it was supposed to be a joke, it flopped. Not funny.

The kid or kids involved had to know that it would hurt students and potentially increase racial tensions at the school.

In addition, it gives the school bad press, creating an impression of some deeply rooted racial problems. That may or may not be a fair portrayal of Tosa West, but it's unavoidable.

Some jerk has caused a lot trouble by engaging in this completely unacceptable behavior.

But--

The words were discovered and they were removed.

I think it may be going a bit overboard to make counselors available for students who felt they needed to speak to one about the bubbler situation.

I can understand that an upset student might want to talk to a counselor about race relations at the school in general.

I can't see any students being so traumatized by the bubbler incident that they'd need counseling.

Anything to get out of class, I guess.

I would hope that school officials will punish the vandal or vandals. That should go without saying. Defacing school property is unacceptable.

I would also hope that the school takes this opportunity to teach students that racial segragation was not a proud chapter in American history.