VIDEO: Student Follows School’s Instructions for Spirit Week, Gets Branded a Racist and Suspended Marshalltown High School, located in Iowa, was gearing up for a school pride week. Students in each grade level were assigned one of the school colors to wear as part of the celebration. The schools colors are red, white, and blue. One student’s participation in the week’s event, in which he demonstrated his enthusiasm for his school, has led to his suspension from playing in three football games this coming fall. After following the protocol as set forth by the school’s administration, he has been accused of being a racist and promoting ‘white pride.’ Blair Van Staalduine, a junior, is a star athlete at the school. The junior class at the high school was assigned the color white to wear for spirit week. Being the spirited student athlete that he is, Blair went all out to show his school pride. He dressed in his assigned color, wearing a white t-shirt, white shorts, white socks, white shoes, and a white baseball cap. Then, he posed for a picture that was eventually posted on social media. In that picture, he formed the letter W with his hands. That is what ultimately led to his suspension. After learning about the social media picture, the school’s principal accused Blair of being a racist and suspended him. His mother, Cathy Van Staalduine, indicated the family was shocked at the school’s response. WHO-TV, Channel 13 in DeMoines, reports on the mother’s reaction. She said, “ We were appalled and so was he. Absolutely. Because the furthest thing from Blair is being a racist.” She continued reiterating that the school administrators were the ones who assigned the colors to each grade level. She added, “Somebody took a picture of him with his white doing a ‘W’ sign because they were wearing white. Blair says if they were wearing orange they would have done an ‘O’”. When Blair’s mother attempted to speak with Principal Aiddy Phomvisay about the racist accusation that Phomvisay hurled at her son, she says the principal called her a racist as well. The Van Staalduine Family is demanding an apology and a reversal of the suspension. If the school does not comply, they have stated that they will sue the school district. tpnn/2014/07/17/video-student-follows-schools-instructions-for-spirit-week-gets-branded-a-racist-and-suspended/
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 14:37:14 +0000
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