Take Responsibility for Bad Behavior

District 200 needs to teach students about accountability for one's actions, taking responsibility for bad things as well as praise for good things.  Unfortunately, the District's public response to a recent outrage is following a familiar pattern:  ignoring the problem.  The District fears bad publicity more than it desires to teach our students to confront problems.  The District falls all over itself promoting good things in our schools; it should be equally quick to confront the negatives.

In a front page article, the Daily Herald reported that spectators at a Wheaton-Warrenville South High School lacrosse game directed racial slurs at opposing players (also reported in the Tribune).  This is repugnant.  Given the frequent accolades received by our high school athletic programs, it's also disturbing that spectators - reported to be students in the newspaper accounts - feel the need to personally denigrate opponents (whether or not in a discriminatory manner) instead of cheering on their own team.  According to the Herald, "District 200 Superintendent Brian Harris emailed an apology" to the other team's players.

Where is that apology?  Not on District 200's web site, and not on Wheaton-Warrenville South's web site.  If the District really takes this matter as seriously as it claims, the apology should be prominently displayed.  Nothing is even mentioned in the school's daily announcements, which focus instead on "important" matters like "end of the year parking."  Even if outsiders were responsible, nonetheless the District is responsible for oversight at its facilities, and an ongoing investigation is no excuse for failing to do the right thing now.  Its failure to address this matter in print won't make the problem go away.  In this case, its actions speak louder than empty "character counts" slogans.