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Students in Tinley Park Protest After Fight Over Racist Video

"Racism is a big thing in this school and that needs to be stopped," freshman Julian Bazan said

High school students in Tinley Park protested Friday after they said multiple fights broke out over racist incidents at their school. 

About 60 students gathered outside Andrew High School holding signs encouraging diversity, some reading "our religion is not a joke." 

"Racism is a big thing in this school and that needs to be stopped," freshman Julian Bazan said. 

One Muslim student said a fight broke out this week after another student spat on a Koran. Videos of multiple fights were posted to social media earlier this week, one of which school officials believe was sparked by a "culturally insensitive" video airdropped to multiple students. 

The principal at Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Bob Nolting, confirmed a physical altercation happened by the physical education area of the school as the first-hour bell rang.

“The situation is believed to be a result of a year-old social media post, that students were talking about before the start of the school day,” Nolting said. “This video was airdropped to many students, therefore, making it difficult to trace its origins. The video contains a culturally insensitive act by one of our students.”

Social media footage provided to NBC 5 from a parent at the school also showed someone in blackface with the caption "blackface is sweeping the nation.” It was not immediately clear if that video was the same one Nolting referred to in his message. 

Nolting said there was an initial report that one of the students in the altercation had a weapon, but further investigation determined that was not accurate.

“In a proactive manner, the school increased staff presence and had two additional Tinley Park Police Department officers join in supervision during passing periods,” he wrote. “Today, the school maintains additional supervision to assure a safe learning environment. The school will continue to monitor social media and respond to any concerns brought forward. Through the school's investigation, it feels there is no imminent threat or safety concern at school.”

Nolting said the students involved in the incident “have been equally and appropriately disciplined,” but further details on what the discipline involved weren’t immediately released.

District 230 said in a statement "we value and celebrate our diverse student body and will not tolerate intolerance." 

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