Racist Social Media Post At Oakland Mills HS Under Investigation

COLUMBIA, MD — A social media post has drawn attention of police and administrators, according to Oakland Mills High School Principal Katherine Orlando. She alerted the community that student services staff would be on hand for support since the post, which was described as "racist in nature," surfaced.

"At this point, I have leveraged all available resources including school system, county and law enforcement personnel who are working collaboratively to respond to this situation," Orlando wrote in a note to the community on Sunday. Read the full letter from Principal Orlando at the end of the article.

Police said on Monday that the investigation was ongoing.

The school resource officer at Oakland Mills was working with administrators in the investigation, according to Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.

"There was a social media post that included a racial slur, but it was not targeted at anyone specific," she said.

The principal reported receiving word of the social media post through members of the Oakland Mills community, which sparked the investigation.

When an Oakland Mills student shared a racist post on social media in November 2016, peers organized a demonstration against hate by walking out of class.

• Walkout at Oakland Mills High School Calls for End to Hate, More Transparency
  
• 'Racially Offensive' Post Leads to Action: Oakland Mills HS Principal

Letter from Principal Katherine Orlando:

November 5, 2017

Dear Oakland Mills HS Families:
We are currently investigating a social media post that was originally brought to my attention by a number of Oakland Mills community members. The post in question was upsetting due to content that is racist in nature. I take the welfare of every student very seriously and want you to know that I am doing everything I can to better understand the origins of the social media posts and evaluate the impact on our school climate and safety of our students.
At this point, I have leveraged all available resources including school system, county and law enforcement personnel who are working collaboratively to respond to this situation. I am keeping my staff aware of the situation, and Student Services staff will be prepared to assist students tomorrow. I will continue to be in touch with you as we learn more.

Thank you,
Katherine Orlando, Principal

Photo from December 2016 walkout at Oakland Mills High School by Elizabeth Janney.