Bromfield students were called to an all-school assembly Monday morning where they were shown photos of the graffiti painted on the Bromfield rock and asked to share their feelings about the images with others seated near them. After the assembly, the Press asked several students to share their thoughts on the incident and the assembly.
Maggie Gill, Grade 12
“Seeing the rock vandalized made me very upset because the rock had previously been painted in a very inclusive and positive way. To think about someone covering our message with hate makes me lose some hope in the world. Seeing the reactions of the community restored some of that faith.
“I think the administration is doing the best they can handling this difficult situation, and I hope it will help prevent incidents like this in the future.”
Colin Cleary, Grade 12
“It was great to see a huge part of the community come and help. I really have to give it up to Maggie Gill for what she did and starting all of this. And now it’s the seniors’ job to make a great new design. She really spearheaded this whole event and she made it more close to seniors, as she is one, and it shows her care and dedication to our grade.
“I think the administration doesn’t understand that these assemblies don’t resonate much with most people. Obviously this was pretty serious, but a lot of people see it as a joke and don’t really care, so that just makes an assembly nap time.”
AJ Doher, Grade 12
“I feel that a lot of the stuff on the rock was just like the basic stuff you would expect—anti-Trump stuff, other grades putting stuff on the rock—but I would never have even thought that someone would actually put that hate symbol on it. Even if it was just a joke or prank, it was disgusting whoever it was. And all that stuff about Mr. O’Shea was horrendous too.
“I think the school is doing an OK job of handling things, although it seemed like a lot of the stuff they said was scripted. I feel as though it was impersonal and robotic. It felt like what someone would say at any school if this is what happened, which is fine, but I still feel it was more of a blow to Bromfield itself, and I wish Mr. Hoffman talked about that as well.”
Ben Rotker, Grade 11
“I found it shocking how rapid the media was in publicizing the actions/intents of an extremely small group of vandals within our town for the entire community of Massachusetts to see … It sheds a terrible name on our town, and people who have never heard of Harvard before now learn to associate this one ill happening with our entire community altogether. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
“On the other hand, I think the faculty was excellent in the way in which they handled the events. They were able to take it seriously enough while still realizing how the vandals are a small fraction of our larger school system, and how they in no way whatsoever represent the true moral makeup of our student body. I also fully support and respect their setting up of a GoFundMe page and a day on which people could paint the rock white. It embodies how our actions speak louder than our words, and it also was a very responsible method to go about solving the issue of the hateful symbols on the rock.”
Gabe Sennott, Grade 10
“I never actually saw the rock in person because I was out of town. The administration handled the situation pretty well in my opinion. They got on the problem and sent out emails and stuff almost immediately. And on our first day back they had a schoolwide assembly about the rock. But one critique about the assembly was the fact that they blurred out some of the graffiti. If they want to show kids what is wrong, they have to know what was put on the rock, even though it may shock some young lads.”
Pilar Vellante, Grade 11
“I was pretty upset and somewhat disgusted by the fact that someone felt comfortable enough to broadcast such hateful words in a place where generations of people in our community leave their mark on the town. Some people try to make light of the situation by saying it was just a joke which makes it even worse that someone found any remote trace of humor in such terrible words and symbols.
“I think the administration, particularly teachers, are doing a good job in class leading discussions about what happened and the feelings associated with the events as well as the allegations that may follow. It’s important to see everyone’s opinion and be able to talk openly about what happened so we can move on and ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Greer Jarvis is a Bromfield junior.
