A local mom said her daughter no longer looks forward to going to school – and after a video with racial slurs and a group chat inciting violence was directed at her, she is unsure if it’s even safe for her daughter to return.
“My stomach hurts knowing that she is at the school,” said Candice Berry.
Berry said her 15-year-old daughter loves to draw and was excited to attend Westinghouse Arts Academy this year.
“She was insisting on going to the school. She felt like it was going to be a great place for her and, initially, it was,” Berry said.
But that quickly changed when her daughter showed her a video of a fellow student using racist and derogatory slurs.
The taunting didn’t stop there. Days later, her daughter showed her a text message thread with racist, homophobic and violent threats directed at a group of Black students.
“School is supposed to be a safe place and it’s just not anymore,” Berry said.
Berry said she contacted the school and never heard back directly about the incidents. Instead, a message was sent out assuring all parents that it was being investigated.
“Here we are, two and a half weeks later, and the video is still online, my kid is still being added to group chats every day,” Berry said.
Channel 11 spoke with the school. A representative said they were unaware of the messages and only investigated the video, which they said condemned but were unable to discipline the student for because she was not a student at the time it was allegedly recorded.
“We can’t discipline a student for a racist remark that was made before they were a student here and did not happen on school property,” said Rick Fosbrink, the CEO of Westinghouse Arts Academy.
Candice said she is considering removing her daughter from the school.
“She just doesn’t want to be a student there anymore because she feels like everyone hates her because she is Black,” Berry said.
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