SOUTH HADLEY — A group of students walked out of South Hadley High School Thursday afternoon in response to hateful videos a classmate posted on the social media platform Snapchat.
At noon, around 20 students — many wearing the color red — walked from the high school to the shopping plaza by Friendly’s at Newton and Lyman streets.
“The reason for the color red was to show the pain students were feeling from the video and the unity between all of us,” senior Amirah Sheehan-Miles, 17, said.
Sheehan-Miles said the walkout was staged to show that students at South Hadley High don’t share the views of the one student who posted racist and homophobic messages. She said many students, including herself, do not experience bullying at school.
In one video, which was spread publicly on other social media platforms, the student said, “Black lives don’t matter, they should be out there picking my cotton, and they should be doing my f—ing work for me.”
The student who posted the hateful messages has been disciplined, school officials said Wednesday. Assistant Principal Patrick Lemieux said that if an incident happens outside of school, but creates a disturbance and disruption at school, it becomes a school issue.
While only a small group of students participated in the walkout, Sheehan-Miles said many wore red to school and many other students made a last-minute decision not to participate because they feared possible consequences. She said she knew she could face detention, and possibly suspension from the cheerleading squad, by walking out of school, but it was worth the risk.
Lemieux said the students will not be disciplined for participating in the walkout because they were doing their “civic action” and they protested in a peaceful manner.
“We think that their message is being heard,” Lemieux said. “The school is taking steps to make this a learning opportunity.”
Lemieux said the school plans to hold an after-school discussion group every week to give students an opportunity to share their concerns. The school also plans to form a student advisory committee to discuss school climate and how the school should move forward.
Last year at Easthampton High School, about 200 students walked out of school to protest the way the administration handled bias-related incidents. It was sparked after a physical altercation on school grounds where three students punched another student who had used a racial slur in a private message.
The state attorney general’s office conducted a civil rights investigation into the school, finding that there black and Hispanic students face more severe discipline than white students.
The AG’s office said it has not received any complaints about South Hadley High School.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.