Principal Dylan Stamey, of Piedmont High School in Union County, North Carolina, sent an email to parents addressing the “White” sign placed over a school water fountain and said it was unintentionally placed.
According to WSCO-TV, a photo circulated around the school of a sign labeled “white” hanging above a water drinking fountain and was shared on Snapchat.
“I was really upset, especially knowing that I graduated there too a couple of years ago,” said a former student. “I know that my brother has told me that they are getting calls from parents already that are angry about what’s going on,” she said.
The student’s younger sibling is a current student and was also upset by what he saw.
“I can only imagine how many people saw it because all of these kids are so interconnected on social media, especially on Snapchat in that age group, so everybody in the school knows about what’s going on,” she said.
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The school district mentioned not being aware of just how much the photo was shared. Despite this, it was still taken seriously enough that the school district sent a message out to the family of students saying they had investigated the photo.
“During practice, a cheer sign was left just outside the gym on the floor, and it was picked up and placed on a water fountain,” said Stamey. “We have investigated this matter and concluded that the placement was not intentional.”
“We apologize if anyone was offended,” Stamey added, referring to the photo implicating segregation.
A spokeswoman for the district, Tahira Stalberte, said in a follow-up email to the Charlotte Observer that she wanted to clarify the situation, saying “the school colors are blue and white. The sign in question is one of the cheer signs that’s used at athletic activities.”
