Marist Shares Early Findings of Kneeling Student Investigation

CHICAGO — Marist High School administrators issued a second statement in response to an incident at last Saturday’s homecoming dance where students were seen kneeling during a Mexican line dance song that appeared in a video that went viral on social media.

Dozens of students gathered in front of the Catholic high school in the Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon to protest what they allege is racism at the school. The video, posted by junior Elizabeth Pacheco, 16, of Oak Forest, showed a large group kneeling at the school’s homecoming dance when the DJ played a Mexican line dancing song, "Payaso del Rodeo." The video went viral and had over 144,000 views on Instagram, alone.

Pacheco said she began recording when some students “started saying really disrespectful things about Mexicans."

"Racism happens at our school, and I think it's really important for the school to educate students and there should be consequences and apologies made other than discipline,” said Pacheco, who maintains that racist incidents at the school are often swept under the rug.

Eighty-one percent of Marist’s student population of appr0ximately 1,700 is white, with the remaining percentage comprised of African Americans, Hispanic, multiracial, Asian and Native American students

In a written statement posted on Marist’s website, the school outlined the steps it has taken to investigate Saturday’s incident, as well as building a more welcoming and inclusive environment for students of all ethnic backgrounds, including the hiring of a diversity, equity and inclusion director in July.

“At the outset, we acknowledge and apologize for the hurt this incident has caused our students, staff and alumni and the many others who have expressed their feelings related to the video posted on social media,” Marist officials said.

In Marist officials’ preliminary investigation, they interviewed chaperones, parents, students involved in the video, and students who were kneeling. They also asked for a “full playlist” for the dance from the DJ company — MG Sound — which included “3-4” Spanish-language songs.

The high school claims that kneeling was not limited to "Payaso del Rodeo,” as shown in the video.

“MG Sound has informed us that it is common for students to gesture in the manner that was displayed on Saturday night as a way of requesting that the DJ’s change the song being played,” according to the statement.

The chaperones also indicated that they saw students kneeling down during several songs, and “the DJ would respond by cutting off one song and playing another.”

“Marist is a family, and when one hurts, we all hurt,” school officials said. “The fact that there were students who left the homecoming dance hurt by what they witnessed shows us that there is work to do.”

Pacheco claims that chaperones at the dance did not intervene when students started kneeling. Since posting the video, Pacheco told Patch that she has been “getting a lot of threats and backlash from people who were kneeling.” Her mother has warned her to be careful, and not to go into the school restroom alone.

“I’ve grown up with these kids. When I [saw them] on Monday, and I don’t see the same people anymore,” the high school junior said. “I do fear a little bit, but they don’t silence me.”

This isn’t the first incident that sparked protest involving comments made by Marist students perceived by some as “racially insensitive.” In 2017, five students were expelled after screenshots of a group text surfaced on social media claiming protesters were going to bring along gang members to kill white residents in retaliation for a Black man gunned down by an off-duty Chicago police officer. Two of the expelled students sued the high school, alleging their comments had been “altered” and that they were disciplined without a hearing

“I feel like Marist isn’t my home anymore. My mom is a single parent and has sacrificed a lot to send me there,” Pacheco said. “I feel obligated to bring a change to Marist. I can’t back out now.”