Racist and homophobic graffiti found in gender neutral bathroom cubicle at Arlington High School

ARLINGTON — Racist and homophobic graffiti was found Wednesday in a bathroom at Arlington High School.

Racist and homophobic slurs were found on a gender neutral booth in one of the high school’s restrooms and remained visible for part of the school day on Wednesday before school officials became aware of the graffiti and removed it.

Principal Matthew Janger condemned the incident in a community-wide statement on Friday, stating that this type of behavior will not be tolerated at the school.

“Vandalism, graffiti and degrading language harm our school and community,” he wrote. “As an educational community, we welcome and encourage debate and diversity of views. Bias and discrimination break down trust that allows us to constructively share different views and learn with and from each other.”

According to Janger’s statement, students allegedly made an effort to remove the graffiti, and while he appreciated this, he encouraged students to report any incidents of bias to school officials.

“Sometimes incidents go unreported even when they appear to be common knowledge,” Janger wrote. “…Rapid reporting helps minimize damage, narrows our investigation and helps identify people who need support. If we don’t know about those affected by incidents, we can’t inform them of the steps taken .”

The incident was reported to the Arlington Police and Human Rights Commission and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.