NEW YORK (AP) - Students at a private school in New York City barricaded themselves inside a campus building for a second day Tuesday to protest racism.
The New York Times reports the student-led protest at the prestigious Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx was sparked by a video that showed several of its high school students using what the school said was “racist, homophobic and misogynistic language.” The video was created several years ago and recently surfaced among the school’s 1,500 students.
In a schoolwide email, the head of the school, Jessica L. Bagby, said the language in the video was a “clear violation of our community values and expectations.”
Bagby said a disciplinary process began soon after officials became aware of the video two weeks ago.
One of the five students in the video withdrew from the school, three others were disciplined and one student who appeared unconscious in the footage was not disciplined, the school said.
The protest was organized by a group calling itself Students of Color Matter. Their demands include written apologies from the students involved, mandatory black studies courses for high school students, and the attendance of two students at board of trustees meetings.
Nonwhite students make up nearly 40 percent of Fieldston’s student body, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. According to its website, its tuition is just under $53,000 a year. The school said it grant more than $14 million a year in financial aid.
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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com
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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com
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