Six Desert Vista High School students dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with gold letters and
arranged themselves to spell the N-word, grinning as they posed for a picture.
The girls were wearing the shirts for senior picture day, when a larger group of students wore lettered tees and posed to spell out “Best You’ve Ever Seen Class of 2016.”
The school district said it won’t release the details of the disciplinary sentence the girls received, but the Phoenix paper wrote that it was rumored to be a five-day suspension.
Principal Christine Barela wrote in a letter to parents that the district wanted to make it “crystal clear that those actions are unacceptable.”
Some are now asking the school for a harsher punishment for the girls.
A Change.org petition calling for the girls’ expulsion gained more than 10,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon.
“Arizona has been stricken with another blatant expression of racism and ignorance,” the petition says.
The petition notes that “the punishment does not fit the total ignorance and cruelty of the crime” and demands the principal’s resignation.
“These expressions of racism will not be tolerated any longer,” it concludes.
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio posted a response on Facebook, saying that he’d spoken to police and learned the six seniors had been receiving threats.
“The threats against these young girls is unacceptable,” he wrote.
He said that a community action officer would be sent to the school to “monitor the situation” and talk to the girls.
“They made a bad mistake as many teenagers do in life. But, any threats against these young women is going to be taken very seriously.”
On Friday, police showed up at the school to keep the calm.
