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Shawn Lewis-Lakin: "inappropriate words or actions will be taken seriously and carry serious consequences."
An unnamed student has been removed from the Royal Oak Middle School "until further notice" for hanging a noose in the bathroom on Friday, the district announces.
"At Royal Oak Schools, the safety of our students is our number one priority, and I am writing to provide you with an update regarding an incident on Friday at Royal Oak Middle School, " Supt. Shawn Lewis-Lakin says Sunday in a statement on the district website.
"An investigation by school personnel and the Royal Oak Police Department has identified a Royal Oak Middle School student who admitted to placing a noose inside the middle school bathroom on Friday. Effective immediately, the student responsible for the noose has been removed from the middle school until further notice. All relevant school policies and procedures are being followed and enforced. The Royal Oak Police investigation into this matter is continuing."
News of the noose quickly spread, with some blaming the highly-charged election and post-election environment. It came on the heels of another incident the day after the election in which students in the middle school cafeteria chanted "build that wall." A video of the incident went viral.
"At Royal Oak Schools, we will not tolerate intimidation, threats, harassment or bullying," the superintendent said in his statement. "Tomorrow, the middle school principal and I will conduct meetings with each grade at the middle school to reiterate and reinforce our school’s strict policies on intimidation, threats, harassment and bullying. We will remind our students that inappropriate words or actions will be taken seriously and carry serious consequences. We will also have additional counselors and social workers to support students affected by this incident. We will be deploying an additional school safety officer to our middle school as well.
"I encourage you to join me, our dedicated staff, our students and our families in wearing spirit wear and our school colors on Tuesday to demonstrate our continued commitment to working together as one community to ensure a positive, inclusive learning environment for all students."
