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BARABOO, Wis. – Officials with the Baraboo School District say they’re worried about student safety due to national media attention around a controversial photo of some students the district says was taken last spring.
The photo was included in a tweet – which has since been deleted – sent about 9 p.m. Sunday. It showed a large group of young men on the steps of what appears to be the Sauk County Courthouse dressed up and making what appeared to be a Nazi salute.
The Baraboo School District sent the following letter to parents this afternoon in response to a photo circulating on social media. pic.twitter.com/0IXNUdLeRD
— Baraboo Schools (@barabooSD) November 12, 2018
A letter sent to parents Monday afternoon by Superintendent Lori Mueller says that the district has been working with the police department on a “modified administrative hold” of the high school as a result of attention the district has been getting. The hold, Mueller said, “means business as usual with keeping detailed notes of who is permitted in and who is permitted out of school.”
Mueller said the district was also “concerned about student safety due to this media attention” and is offering mental health support for bullying and harbadment.
The district sent a letter to parents earlier Monday reminding parents and students that their school is a “hate-free environment” after the photo began to draw local, national and international attention.
It is so hard to find words…
This is why every single day we work hard to educate. We need to explain what is the danger of hateful ideology rising. Auschwitz with its gas chambers was at the very end of the long process of normalizing and accommodating hatred. https://t.co/13AzZaMGJR
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) November 12, 2018
The caption on the tweet ends with “#barabooproud,” which is promoted on the district’s web page.
The original tweet that started things going viral. We’ll hear from @LoriMMueller and @barabooSD later today. #news3 pic.twitter.com/iqvGICztXe
— Dannika Lewis (@DannikaLewis) November 12, 2018
Since then, the post has gotten the attention of thousands of people on Twitter, and the Baraboo School District has posted announcements on its website.
In the letter, Mueller called the gestures “extremely inappropriate,” and said that the district is investigating the situation and is working with local authorities.
“If the gesture is what it appears to be, the district will pursue any and all available and appropriate actions, including legal, to address the issue,” the letter said.
Mueller said the district has confirmed that the photo was not taken on school property or at a school-sponsored event.
The photo of students posted to #BarabooProud is not reflective of the educational values and beliefs of the School District of Baraboo. The District will pursue any and all available and appropriate actions, including legal, to address.
— Lori M. Mueller (@LoriMMueller) November 12, 2018
Mueller said earlier Monday morning that the photo is “completely unacceptable.” She said the district is “very concerned” about the image, adding the gesture is certainly not endorsed by the district.
Until Monday morning, the pictures were still available on the WheelMemories photography website. They have since been deleted and replaced with a message from the company.
It said, it part, “Due (to) malevolent behavior on the part of some in society; this page has been modified. It is too bad that there are those in society who can and do take the time to be jerks; knowingly and willingly to be jerks!”
Until this morning the picture of BHS students doing the Nazi salute was still available on the photographer’s website. It has been deleted and replaced with this message. It’s unclear who is being referred to as “jerks”… #news3 pic.twitter.com/DPP2tSj2wK
— Amanda Quintana (@AmandaQTV) November 12, 2018
The posted message also included an apology: “To anyone that was hurt I sincerely apologize.”
The Baraboo Police Department said officers are looking into the incident, but wouldn’t comment on what the criminal charges could be.
In a statement Monday afternoon, state Sen. Jon Erpenbach condemned the photo.
— Jon Erpenbach (@JonErpenbach) November 12, 2018
“There is no place for hatred, intolerance and racism in our society,” Erpenbach said. “Unfortunately, based on what these students see coming from the White House, some of them may believe what they have done is acceptable. It is absolutely not. Leaders, from the President on down, need to condemn racism in all its forms and work toward a world where we learn from the mistakes of history.”
Rep. Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, also released a statement saying he was “extremely disappointed” in the photo and said it was a “slap in the face to all of our efforts to eliminate hatred, racism and bigotry from our community.”
“However, I also believe the actions of these students are informed by the attitudes they see every day in the adults around them – from their fellow citizens all the way up to their President and other leaders,” Considine said in the statement. “I hope we use this incident as an opportunity to take a serious, critical look at the differences between our stated values and the behaviors we see in our community.”
Stay with News 3 for the latest on this story and the response from the district, students and parents.
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