Marley Brennan
Executive Opinion Editor
On Sept. 30, Manhattan Beach Middle School students exclaimed racial slurs at the Culver City High School cheer team. Since then, these students have been reprimanded, but their consequences are being held confidential because they are minors. The new rule that MBMS students have to be accompanied by parents at games is righteous and necessary for Costa to prevent further disrespect of its property and create a welcoming environment to everyone who comes to events hosted at the school.
Many MBMS students attended Costa varsity football’s home game against Culver City High School. According to eyewitnesses, a group of about 10 MBMS students began throwing items at Culver City’s cheer squad, such as pom-poms and footballs.
Soon after, the incident escalated and some students were accused of shouting racial slurs at the cheerleaders. Both MBUSD and Culver parents were urging them to stop and reported the situation to the administration and security. The students were immediately removed from campus, and the Manhattan Beach Police Department, administration at MBMS and director of student services, Kerry Riccio Aguero, were all notified as soon as the students were identified; however, they are to remain anonymous as they are minors. Since the game, MBMS students now have to be accompanied by their parents to attend any Costa football game in the future.
According to Costa Vice Principal Amanda Vavao, football games are community events where students and parents come to enjoy the Friday night lights. She believes that students, as a whole, are not troublesome or problematic, while only some make poor choices. When students are disrespectful to others and property, the administration and district should take action to limit their ability to attend school events.
Racism exhibited at school events is a national issue and has shut down football seasons across the country. Per the L.A. Times, Rosemont High School in Sacramento had to end its football season as a result of racist social media chats circling around the school. The majority of the football team participated in a racist thread that became public shortly before its most recent game began. Additionally, the Washington Post states that a racially provoked brawl occurred at a football game at Roxbury Prep, a high school in Massachusetts. Racial slurs were directed at the players and the game ended immediately. As hate crimes are a national issue, adequate punishments are necessary to demonstrate the severity of racial hate-crimes in an effort to terminate any discrimination within our community.
Per Costa English teacher and Link Crew coordinator Maddie Hutchinson, incidents of hatred in MBUSD expose a serious need for additional education and awareness among students. Additionally, such incidents are creating a negative reputation for the community, which is disappointing as there are many good deeds occurring within the district and campus. When there is an attack on one group or individual, it requires an immediate response from everyone.
Some argue that because the MBMS students are young, they were not aware of the weight of their words and actions. In respect to personal experiences, being mostly under the age of 14, many middle schoolers’ driving motivation for hate-crimes is likely to gain attention. However, the racial slurs that were said by these students have well-known violent and discriminatory connotations, discrediting the claim that the students didn’t, at least, have a baseline awareness of the weight and meaning of the spoken words along with the reputation it gives Costa.
In all, the incident that took place at the Costa football game in late September calls for appropriate and immediate consequences and shifts in campus culture. As seen in Massachusetts and Sacramento, racial attacks and discrimination are becoming a national issue, begging for the spread of awareness in order to prevent future racially-related hate-crimes.
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