Student Expelled From Orange County Catholic School After Sharing Racist Video
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA (CBSLA) — A student at Santa Margarita Catholic High School was expelled after posting a racist video to social media app Snapchat.
"I can't believe it," Natalie McFarland, a resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, said. "It's an atrocity. It's depressing. I thought we were beyond that."
McFarland's reaction came after seeing a video posted by a student that showed an African American family touring the school. The three-second clip shows the family walking on the campus, but it's the text on the video that's causing such strong reactions.
The student wrote, "Stupid Cotton Pickers," a reference to America's history of slavery where Africans were forced to pick cotton on plantations.
The student posted the video Tuesday, and was expelled Wednesday.
"I back the school one hundred percent," Keith Slattery, a parent, said. "There should be zero tolerance here. I don't see color."
The Diocese of Orange issued a statement Wednesday night that said in part:
"In clear contradiction to the views and values of Santa Margarita Catholic High School, a student posted an inappropriate and insensitive message yesterday on social media. The individual responsible for the message is no longer a student at Santa Margarita High School."
"Good riddance to her," McFarland said. "She should have been expelled."
The diocese said that it teaches children to respect and cherish diversity and that all people are created in the likeness of God.
"I think the fact that we are in O.C., they probably wanted to show an example that this is not acceptable here," Slattery said.
The diocese said it would be talking about the incident at the school and encouraged parents to talk with their children about the video and the message conveyed.