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Orange County High Schools Respond To Hate

Flo Martin says she snapped this photo of a swastika on a Pacifica High School baseball field in the late 1990s.
Flo Martin says she snapped this photo of a swastika on a Pacifica High School baseball field in the late 1990s.
(
Flo Martin
)

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Orange County High Schools Respond To Hate
In November, several members of Garden Grove's Pacifica High School boys' water polo team played a Nazi-era marching song through speakers at an off-campus event, hoisting their right arms in 'Sieg Heil' salutes. It wasn't the first Orange County high school to make headlines recently for hateful student behavior - or the last.

In November, several members of Garden Grove's Pacifica High School boys' water polo team played a Nazi-era marching song through speakers at an off-campus event, hoisting their right arms in 'Sieg Heil' salutes. 

The Daily Beast published an 8-second video clip of the incident last month. Before long, more videos surfaced: Pacifica students were shown on school grounds Nazi-saluting, singing and marching.

Pacifica isn't the first Orange County high school to make headlines for hateful student behavior — or the last. Officials at the Garden Grove school, who did not immediately notify families when the incidents occurred, have acknowledged not handling the problem properly. They and other school officials in Orange County say they are trying to better teach tolerance, but there are challenges.

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