Officials at a suburban Chicago high school have denounced a student's prom proposal that contained a racist comment, but some students and parents want the district to go further in their response to the incident.
Burlington’s Central High School and Central Community Unit School District 301 administration said they were first made aware of the "highly inappropriate" post over the weekend.
The post saw two students holding a so-called "promposal" sign, which contained a racist comment about picking cotton.
Kayla Haynes, a student at the school, says that while some may see the post as a joke, she and many of her classmates do not, and they want action to be taken.
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She also said she would like her classmates to apologize for the post.
Haynes' father said that he has just as much of a problem with how the school has handled the aftermath of the post.
"She handled it very well," Eric Monroe Haynes said of his daughter. "The problem now is how the school will handle it."
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In a statement, school officials said:
“The derogatory, racist remarks in the post do not reflect Central 301’s values or our standards of appropriate and acceptable student conduct. Central Community Unit School District 301 is a very diverse district, and we celebrate and value our diversity. Actions that go against our values of inclusion and respect have no place in our schools or our school-sponsored activities.”
The school urged members of the community with concerns to contact school officials. Students were told to reach out to school social workers, the administration noted.
School officials did not share details regarding potential disciplinary action against the student who made the proposal in their statement.
Meanwhile, the school's prom is taking place Friday, and Haynes says that she isn't going to let the post dissuade her from going.
"I am very excited," she said.
