A pro-Hitler message scrawled in an eighth grade bathroom at Beverly Middle School last week has rattled students and staff and set off a police investigation, with families and school leaders voicing concern about how something like this showed up on campus.
District officials say the phrase explicitly supported Hitler and was written in a stall used by eighth grade students. They have suggested the graffiti could be a reaction to material the class is currently studying. Beverly Public Schools has confirmed it is working with Beverly Police to identify who is responsible, and investigators plan to review hallway surveillance footage from around the time of the incident, since there are no cameras inside bathrooms. Police have asked anyone with information to contact them, according to CBS Boston.
Students Were Reading 'Night' In Class
Beverly Superintendent Dr. Peter J. Cushing called the bathroom message "misguided and hateful" and said the district has a responsibility to teach students about the history and consequences of hate speech. In a notice to families, officials explained that eighth graders are currently reading Elie Wiesel's memoir "Night" and said staff will work directly with students who are affected by the incident. The teachers' union has urged a thorough review of district safety measures and warned that reports of antisemitic symbols and writing have been widespread across multiple grade levels, per CBS Boston.
Part Of A Larger Pattern
Advocates say what happened in Beverly fits a broader trend. The Anti-Defamation League's audits have documented sharp increases in antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assaults in recent years, including a significant jump in K-12 vandalism. Local reporting has highlighted similar episodes on the North Shore and in other parts of Massachusetts. In one example, administrators in Uxbridge found a swastika in a girls bathroom while students there were studying "Night." Together, these incidents show how classroom lessons about the Holocaust can surface difficult reactions that call for both education and security measures. According to Boston.com, educators say the pattern demands coordinated responses.
Reporting And Next Steps
Under Massachusetts law, an offense is treated as a hate crime when investigators find it was motivated by bias, and victims or witnesses can report incidents either to local police or to the Attorney General's Civil Rights Division for additional help. The Attorney General's office provides guidance and victim resources for schools and communities responding to bias and civil rights violations, including a hotline and options for filing complaints, according to Mass.gov. Beverly officials say they will remove the graffiti, support affected students and review school policies while police continue their investigation.
