Susan Duane, the principal of St. Mary, wrote in a letter dated Sunday on behalf of the school and the Durham Catholic District School Board that the racist comments in a school year were “unknowingly published.”
Susan Duane, the principal of St. Mary, wrote in a letter dated Sunday on behalf of the school and the Durham Catholic District School Board that the racist comments in a school year were “unknowingly published.”
The principal of a Catholic high school in Durham Region has ordered all students to return their yearbooks after a student’s tribute was replaced with a racist message.
The senior student at St. Mary Catholic Secondary tried to honour his grandmother in his yearbook, his aunt Mayma Raphael wrote on social media.
He was instead “devastated” and “embarrassed” after the offensive message was printed and distributed to students, Raphael posted on Facebook.
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His yearbook entry was submitted to read as: “RIP Grandma. Thank you for guiding me through my four years of high school,” Raphael wrote. Instead it was changed to a racist comment that referenced a gorilla from an Ohio zoo.
Susan Duane, the principal of St. Mary, wrote in a letter dated Sunday on behalf of the school and the Durham Catholic District School Board that the comments were “unknowingly published.”
A racist comment was printed in the St. Mary Catholic Secondary School yearbook.
Facebook
The student’s aunt went on social media to share that her nephew has previously been bullied by other students at the Pickering high school. The post has been shared and liked 3,300 times by Monday evening.
He was one of the school’s star athletes, who never had any “disciplinary actions against him,” Raphael posted.
“Since this was his final year at the school, he was really looking forward to his yearbook. Now his memory of his time at the school is forever ruined,” Raphael’s social media post reads.
Tracy Barill, Director of Education at the Durham Catholic District School Board told the Star in an email she is “deeply saddened by what has happened” and that she extends “my personal apologies to the individuals who have been harmed by the racist and malicious comments made.”
“There is no place for such things in our schools. Racism and hatred hurts our whole community,” Barill added.
The principal’s letter said a formal investigation has been launched, in collaboration with Durham Region police. It also acknowledged that the comments were “malicious, hurtful and racist in nature” and do not reflect the Catholic board’s “mission, vision or values.”
“Those who produce offensive or disrespectful content will be subject to disciplinary action according to the Ontario Schools Code of Conduct and/or applicable policies of the Durham Catholic District School Board,” Duane said in the letter to students and parents.
The yearbooks were distributed Saturday. Students have been asked to return their yearbooks to the school on Tuesday.
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“Further direction will be provided in the coming days/weeks, and we ask for 100 per cent co-operation from all students, parents/guardians and staff,” Duane wrote.
“A full inventory will be completed to ensure that every copy is accounted for.”
Irelyne Lavery Irelyne Lavery is a former staff reporter for the Star.
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