Royal Oak Middle School Student Suspended for Noose Incident

(Posted Nov. 21, 2016) ROYAL OAK, MI — A Royal Oak Middle School student has been removed from the school for placing a noose in a school bathroom, the district superintendent said Sunday.

In a letter on the school's website, superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin said:

At Royal Oak Schools, the safety of our students is our number one priority, and I am writing to provide you with an update regarding an incident on Friday at Royal Oak Middle School. An investigation by school personnel and the Royal Oak Police Department has identified a Royal Oak Middle School student who admitted to placing a noose inside the middle school bathroom on Friday. Effective immediately, the student responsible for the noose has been removed from the middle school until further notice. All relevant school policies and procedures are being followed and enforced. The Royal Oak Police investigation into this matter is continuing.

The discovery of the noose is the second incident with racial or ethnic overtones at the school this month. A day after the election of Donald Trump as president, some students at the school were videotaped chanting in the lunchroom “build that wall,” referencing a controversial campaign promise by candidate Trump to build a wall along the southern border of the United States. The incidents are one of many that have been alleged across the United States since the general election.

Photo by Sara LeClerk via Flickr Commons