Graffiti was recently spotted near the bridge by the Split Rock Golf course, a local teen party site, containing racial and potentially homophobic themes. The graffiti tags were spray painted on the abandoned railroad tracks.  The school district and community members were understandably outraged.

“I…am very concerned about both the graffiti and continued gathering. As a district we have worked incredibly hard to create a healthy school environment where all are respected and accepted, so it is disheartening that the message is not resonating and transferring to actions outside of school. I do hope that students will have the courage to be up standers and allies for their peers at all times. That is the character we seek to instill in our students.” Dr. Champ, the district superintendent mentioned.

One spray painted comment read, “Welcome” in addition to a tag that says, “White kids of Pelham.” There is another that reads “the homersexualz… but not in a gay way” and featured a picture of fictional character Homer Simpson. 

“As a teacher and school leader, I’m deeply concerned that some of our students continue to gather at this spot and engage in risky behavior, which in this case seems to have resulted in graffiti with racial and homophobic overtones,” high school principal Mark Berkowitz said. “Words matter. Language such as this is offensive and not reflective of who we strive to be as a school or a district. It’s important that we confront bias, encourage positive choices and recognize the impact of our words and actions.”

On January 15, Principal Berkowitz and Assistant Principal Antonelli shared a message that was played in all third period classes reiterating the theme that words and actions have impact.

Sources say that these tags have been there since mid-December, but it seems graffiti is a common trend among teens that attend such parties at this specific location. It is not known who these specific tags were made by and the graffiti has since been painted over.