CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Southwest Side Catholic high school said it has completed an investigation to allegations by some Latino students that they were disrespected by other students at last weekend's homecoming dance.
At issue was a video posted by one Marist High School student showing a group of students kneeling on the dance floor when a song was being played with singing in Spanish.
"What happened Saturday, I feel like we were really disrespected," one student told CBS 2.
"For them to be kneeling, which represents racial inequality and racial injustice, for them to be doing that for a song that's just not in their language, was so disappointing to see," said another student.
But Marist High School said the DJ company involved said it is common for students at dances to kneel as a way of requesting a different song.
Chaperones reported that kneeling act happened many times throughout the dance; and video showed some of the same students who knelt during one Spanish-language song were seen dancing at other Spanish-language songs.
Still, Marist said the fact there were students who were hurt by what they saw shows administrators there's work to do on the culture of inclusion at the school.
"Although these are the facts, we recognize there are still students at Marist who viewed this video or who were at the Homecoming dance that were hurt by these actions," Marist High School said in a statement posted on Twitter. "Marist is a family, and when one of us hurts, we all hurt. The fact that there were students who left the homecoming dance hurt by what they witnessed shows us that there is work to do."
