A student at an elementary school in Carmichael on Wednesday found a drawing of a Nazi swastika in a student bathroom on campus, officials said. Juliann Wolney, the principal at Del Dayo Elementary School, said in a message to parents that the student saw the Nazi swastika drawing during the lunch break.
The swastika, an antisemitic symbol commonly used by hate groups, was found on the wall of a bathroom stall. The swastika found at the Carmichael school came three days after campus staff found graffiti with antisemitic language and symbols at another San Juan Unified School District campus. That graffiti was removed before students arrived on campus Monday morning.
Raj Rai, a spokeswoman for the school district, said on Thursday there’s no indication that the antisemitic graffiti found Wednesday at Del Dayo is related to the antisemitic vandalism found at the Gold River Discovery Center, a K-8 school in the community of Gold River.
Rai said a single drawing of a swastika was found at Del Dayo; no other graffiti was found on the campus. The student who spotted the graffiti at Del Dayo on Wednesday reported it to school staff. Wolney said staff responded immediately and removed the drawing.
“Our school stands for respect and inclusion, and Del Dayo is a place where all are welcome and appreciated,” Wolney said in a message to parents. “Actions, symbols or language that exclude or demean others are not in alignment with our school community’s standards and will not be tolerated.”
The principal asked parents to take this opportunity to speak with their children about the impact that “vandalism such as this can cause.” “Students have brainstormed a list of ideas to repair any harm that may have occurred due to the swastika symbol being drawn on the wall,” Wolney told parents. “Action will be taken (Thursday) to carry out these ideas.”
The antisemitic graffiti found at the Gold River Discovery Center campus was reported to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. The school district spokeswoman said school staff is working with the district’s safe schools team to investigate the vandalism.
On Sunday, school staff found the antisemitic graffiti in several areas throughout the Gold River Discovery Center campus, Principal Kim Zeltvay said in a message sent to parents Monday. Like the Del Dayo principal, Zeltvay told parents her school “stands for respect and inclusion,” and vandalism such as this “will not be tolerated.”
She also encouraged parents to speak to their children about the impact of this type of vandalism. “I would like to ask that you and all of the Gold River Discovery Center community continue to keep an eye out for suspicious activity on or near our campus and to report anything out of the ordinary to school staff members and law enforcement,” Zeltway said in the message to parents. “Should you or your student have any information regarding this incident, please reach out to a staff member as soon as possible.”