Dear Jesuit Families,

Over the past few weeks, we have been experiencing some destructive and unsanitary activity that has rendered several of our bathrooms unusable and several facilities needing extraordinary clean-up or repair. Some examples of the destruction include food being thrown on windows and walls in the Harris Center and household items, foreign objects, and mass quantities of toiletries being stuffed and flushed down various toilets throughout campus. The most serious of these incidents have caused repeated overflowing toilets and urinals, requiring major plumbing work and an inordinate level of clean-up before the bathrooms are safe for students to use. As a result, on Tuesday, November 8, we took the extraordinary step of closing all but one bathroom on campus due to a major sewer line clog that we did not want to exacerbate. There was potential for the harm to escalate, and I simply was not comfortable putting unsuspecting students in a potentially dangerous and unsanitary position.  We are working diligently to get all sewer lines cleared again and all bathrooms and other facilities sanitized so that they are safe and clean for our student use. We expect all bathrooms to be back up and running by the start of school on Thursday, November 10.  While the work continues, students will have access to a bathroom if they need one throughout the day.

Simply put, campus vandalism must stop immediately! This bathroom destruction is not funny or harmless and is undoubtedly not tenable. We will not accept this kind of behavior from any school community member. 

We will continue working to identify the individual(s) responsible for this costly and disruptive activity and will hold them fully accountable for their actions. We owe it to each other to care for our school and care for each other by having everyone do their part to clean up after themselves and refrain from destructive or disruptive behavior that puts others at risk. 

We also know that the overwhelming majority of our students are not participating in or encouraging this activity. Most of our young men do not want to experience this type of behavior carried out on their school campus. During lunch Tuesday, I had several discussions with students that confirmed my suspicions about how the majority felt. Just as I told students repeatedly this week, please know Jesuit is working very hard to provide the best possible learning environment, free from distractions and disturbances. We take our responsibility to ensure the safety of all members of this community very seriously.

To that end, as part of a school-wide PA announcement at the beginning of the second period yesterday, I encouraged all students to share any direct knowledge of anyone responsible for destroying any part of our campus by talking to someone in the Dean’s Office, their counselor, a teacher, or any trusted adult on campus. Alternatively, we have encouraged your son to speak with you directly, particularly if they need help communicating with a trusted adult on campus. 

As a follow-up to my school-wide announcement, I’d like to invite all parents to have a conversation with your son about the destruction that has been occurring throughout our campus. Any student who engages in vandalism or harm to campus facilities will be appropriately disciplined. These types of behaviors are not in line with our Catholic values, nor the values of any community of good and decent people, and will not be tolerated in any way.

Please contact me directly or any member of the Administration, Faculty, or Staff if you have any information to help us end these incidents. With the support of all Jesuit parents and the primary educators of our students, we can put these incidents behind us and carry on with the school year by celebrating the many positive aspects of our school community.

La Roddric C. Theodule, M. Ed
Assistant Principal | Dean of Students