NEWS

Christ Church expels student over racist photo

Nathaniel Cary

ncary@greenvillenews.com

Christ Church Episcopal School has expelled a sophomore who drew nooses on a photo of four black students and sent it on social media and through text messages.

Leonard Kupersmith, CCES headmaster, said the school's investigation left no doubt that just one student was responsible for modifying the photo on Snapchat and sending it out.

"The principal reasons for dismissing the student were to uphold the principles of decency and respect, and secondarily to respond to behavior that tarnishes the school's reputation," Kupersmith told The Greenville News.

The photo was created on Snapchat, a social media messaging app, and came to the attention of school administrators on Monday afternoon, Kupersmith said. It had been shared through text messages, he said.

It shows four high school males sitting next to each other in a classroom. The modified photo has nooses drawn around their necks. A swastika appears in the corner of the photo.

School leaders met with parents of students pictured in the photo Wednesday morning.

Kupersmith called the dialogue respectful and reasonable.

"They were looking for a firm and fair response from the school and generally concerned about the promotion of dialogue about diversity," he said.

In response, CCES leaders will spend the summer crafting a plan for the next school year to promote education about all types of diversity, he said.

"We need to be more intentional about that," he said. "And we need to engage the students more in that dialogue."

"It's a fallacy to assume that adolescents have a broad cultural awareness," he said.

Kupersmith said he doesn't believe the student understood the momentous impact of the imagery in the photo, "but any reasonable person would react to the symbolism of the photograph."