Swastika Drawn on Hampton Bays High School Desk; Allegations Made Against Athletes Led to District Action

A swastika was found drawn on a desk inside Hampton Bays High School last month.

District Superintendent Lars Clemensen said after an immediate investigation of the pencil drawing, on October 31, the hate symbol was removed and the student responsible was identified and disciplined.

“We condemn antisemitic behavior and all acts of hate, including symbols and speech,” Clemensen said in a statement. “While I cannot discuss the specifics of the discipline levied on an individual student, the district’s code of conduct was applied to determine an outcome for the student. All high school students subsequently participated in an enhanced lesson focused on antisemitism, symbols of hate and current events last week.”

He said this is in addition to the ongoing work that is done in all three school buildings, with the district being designated a “No Place for Hate” school by the Anti-Defamation League. No Place for Hate is a self-directed program helping members of school communities create a more equitable and inclusive climate.

“This partnership provides a number of programs and curriculum for our students throughout the year. Together with our work with the Facing History and Teaching Tolerance curriculum, and following this event, we redoubled our efforts and enhanced high school classroom instruction around the concepts of acceptance, understanding historical context and combating antisemitism,” Clemensen said. “What followed was a debrief with social studies teachers and administrators from the middle and high schools to discuss this matter and those others we are seeing in the news across Long Island and beyond and how our work instructionally can help prevent instances like this from happening again.”

The incident in Hampton Bays mirrors many across Long Island that have occurred since Hamas-led Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, reigniting armed conflict between Israel and Hamas. On October 30, and again on November 11, swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti were found spray-painted in Montauk.

In an unrelated incident, a student recently claimed to be sexually assaulted by members of the district’s high school football team. While Clemensen said he cannot comment on the specifics of the investigation, the superintendent did confirm that an accusation of sexual assault and bullying was officially made, though a thorough investigation into members of the team did not corroborate the sexual assault allegation.

He did say, however, that a Dignity for all Students Act claim was founded, and consequences were handled via the code of conduct. DASA is the state-mandated process used to report, investigate and address instances of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

“All players on the team were given additional counseling and instruction on appropriate behavior, bullying and upstanding behaviors, including reporting instances of misconduct,” Clemensen said.