Central Dauphin High School: Racist Instagram Post Lands Pennsylvania Students In Hot Water

A group of unidentified students, reportedly with Pennsylvania’s Central Dauphin High School, have attracted controversy and subjected themselves to an investigation by Central Dauphin School District officials after an Instagram post featuring a racist sign, uploaded to the account of mad_dawg_babe, has gone viral on social media, as reported by Penn Live.

“You stupid n*****,” the sign scrawled on what appears to be white, 8.5-inch by 11-inch binder paper reads.

Although the fate of the students responsible for the post remains elusive, Central Dauphin School District has issued a statement addressing the racist sign and Instagram photo, confirming that the students do attend the school.

“First and foremost, this type of speech and behavior contradicts the principles and core beliefs of equity, humanity, and dignity that we try to teach our students,” the Central Dauphin district’s statement reads.

The school reports that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the post has been started by officials and that they will be determining “the appropriate disciplinary response.”

Twitter users stated that the racist post has resulted in Central Dauphin “looking like the worst” district in Pennsylvania and that they would have been “suspended for days” for less serious infractions.

The image features a group of white teenage girls in a van or SUV, with the girl in the driver’s seat appearing to hold the racist sign up.

The Instagram photo was accompanied by a caption proclaiming that boys are “stupid af” and that the group of girls represented the poster’s “b****s.”

Students involved with the photo are reported to have begun issuing apologies on social media.

“I didn’t know that they held that paper up. I am not racist towards anyone,” wrote one of the teenagers, who was reportedly not in the car at the time. “I didn’t understand the severity of my actions and im truly truly sorry to anyone that is offended.”

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Nicol Brown, a parent of a student at the school, described the racist Instagram post as a “travesty” and expressed concern that African-American students simply trying to get an education are forced to navigate such hurtful behavior. She expressed the view that the girls’ punishment should amount to more than after-school detentions and that they should be removed from athletic teams they might be members of.

Brown went on to state that the very fact that the Central Dauphin students are emboldened to post such an image on the internet demonstrates that they have “no fear of reprisal.” The parent continued that the behavior was no different than any other sort of bullying and that the district has “zero tolerance” for bullying.

Junior Jakasia Cabbagestalk stated it is “sad” that African-American students have to attend a public school where other students display Confederate flags and use the N-word in hallways.

“It is disappointing that this is where we are in this day and time — I’d hope we’d be in a better place,” stated Terrence Parsons, another parent.

A YouTube video produced by the Central Dauphin School District, titled “Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships,” begins with President Barack Obama speaking about changes that needed to be made if students are unable to graduate with even the most “basic skills” over several years.

The U.S. president called on schools and parents not to implement more standards but to hold students and educators to “higher” and “better” standards. Obama described the importance that these standards describe what children are “expected to learn” and what “teachers are expected to teach.”

President Obama stated that these standards were essential to preparing children for careers, as well as entrance to college programs.

[Featured Image by onsulak/iStock]