(WWJ) -- Multiple incidents of racism are under investigation at a pair of metro Detroit schools, including the distribution of “n-word passes” at Saline Middle School and a racial slur on a bathroom wall in Bloomfield Hills that prompted student protests on Friday.
Officials in Saline are investigating after a middle school student was found to be distributing “n-word” passes to other students.
Superintendent Steve Laatsch says the student who was found to be distributing the cards was identified last week and will be facing disciplinary action, according to a report from MLive.
The student in question wanted to give other students the impression that saying the slur around school would not have any consequences, according to officials.
The student’s name and age have not been disclosed.
A racially charged Snapchat incident in the district two years ago prompted officials to seek community input on how it can be more inclusive. In the wake of this most recent incident, the district says it is also making an educational video that will be shared with students.
In Oakland County, meanwhile, hundreds of students at Bloomfield Hills High left the school Friday afternoon to protest a series of recent racist events.
Last week, officials found “kill all n-words” written in a bathroom, where the racial slur was spelled out. Officials have not said whether any students faced discipline related to the incident.
While police are assisting the school in the investigation, there were about 200 students demonstrating outside the school Friday, as signs and chants called for rooting out racism from the school.
One student said she’s been experiencing this type of behavior since elementary school, according to a report from the Detroit News.
"I've been in this district since I was in first- or second-grade, and I've been experiencing stuff like this for years," 15-year-old Asia Hughes told the News. "It's been this kind of nonstop issue. The school barely takes action. The most they'll do is give a suspension. … It's frustrating because we never get what we deserve when it comes to this issue."
Acting Board of Education President Jennifer said in a statement the board “denounces and deplores all expressions of racism and other forms of hatred and intolerance in our community.”
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“We fully support all of the current and planned efforts of our Superintendent, administration, and teaching staff in addressing these events which are deeply disturbing to all of us who serve in education,” the statement said. “Our students always need to feel safe, valued, loved, and cared for when they come to school, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure this is our school environment.”
District officials are planning to hold a “Community Collaboration Event to move district-wide anti-racism work forward” Tuesday night at the high school.
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