Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, California, is in some trouble after a group of students rearranged letters on their shirts at a recent school assembly to spell out a racial slur, and a picture of the action leaked and went viral on social media.
The photo, which appears to have been taken during or around a school assembly in the school's gym, has the Cabrillo mascot named "Jaguar" in the background and a group of students with letters on their shirts that they have rearranged to read the N-word, which also was spelled incorrectly.
Here's the photo in question:
And you can watch a news report about the incident below:
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
The school is aware of the incident, and Cabrillo High School posted an apology to the school's Instagram, usually used to highlight sports achievements and visiting speakers, saying they're "deeply disappointed and appalled" by the incident.
They also said that "immediate steps are being taken to address the situation" and that this sort of incident will not be tolerated at the school.
Local and national civil rights groups have called for further commentary from the superintendent of the Long Beach School District, Dr. Jill Baker.
People online were saddened and unfortunately not surprised by this event.
Many folks commented that the students in the photo appear to also be people of color, where usually this sort of insulting action is undertaken by largely white students in other similar incidents.
Many people were appalled by the students' actions, with some also pointing out that they didn't even get the spelling correct.
Former and current students chimed in, expressing their lack of surprise and simultaneous disappointment.
@ScarlettFouts/YouTube
Relatives of students at the school were prompted to look into the matter further.
What is even more disappointing, people pointed out, is that the school had a lot to say in their apology, but gave no details about any disciplinary action the students in question faced as a result of their actions.
For example, many of these students were seniors.
@ChuckStewart-q3z/YouTube
A general sentiment was that no one wants to attend that school, now.
@Gokublack_3782/YouTub
Folks were feeling some deja vu, as this sort of thing keeps happening.
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In fact, people were reasonably angry that events like this seem to be becoming more normalized.
As of the writing of this article, information about the details of repercussions for the students is still forthcoming.
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