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A parent who took a picture of about 60 high school students in Wisconsin doing what appears to be a Nazi salute said that he had simply asked the youth to say goodbye to their parents and blame him for the timing of the shoot . (November 13)
AP
More than 6000 people have has signed an online petition calling a Wisconsin school system to suspend students who appear to be doing a Nazi salute on a group photo photographed before their spring ball, in May.
Baraboo School District Administrator Lori Mueller said she was investigating the photo and taking appropriate action, but repeated efforts to talk to her one day after the photo was released on Monday did not help. have not succeeded.
Regardless of which discipline Baraboo High School chose, about 160 km northwest of Milwaukee, the image could have serious consequences for the young men represented here, according to a university administrator.
"This could very well have an impact on their ability to enter college," said Stefanie Niles, vice president of enrollment and communications at Ohio Wesleyan University and president of the National Association. college admissions councils.
► November 12th: Teenagers at school (almost) completely white make the Nazi salute
► November 1st: He was neo-Nazi. How a white supremacist renounced hatred
► August 28th: J.D. Martinez defends the pro-gun Instagram post starring Adolf Hitler
"Everything has a reverb effect," she said. "I think a lot of these young men will have a variety of responses from the institutions that envisioned them."
Ellen Weiland, Mueller's assistant, said the fallout had already begun. She heard that scholarships had been withdrawn from some already graduated students, while she was unable to verify it.
And she received several calls from individuals saying that they had planned to ask their alma maters not to accept students from Baraboo, a four-year high school with nearly 1,000 students.
"It's very sad," she says.
The photo drew international condemnation this week after turning to social media. The image, taken by a professional photographer and parent of one of the students, shows about 60 young men standing on the steps of the Sauk County Courthouse before their prom.
About 30 people seem to be doing the Nazi salute and one, in the first row, displays a three-fingered OK sign largely associated with the movements of white power.
The ensuing social media discussion included messages, written by current and former students, describing an atmosphere in the school where racist comments and attitudes were commonplace and administrators were doing little for school. to address them.
The incident comes amidst a surge of rhetoric and white nationalist organizations. At the end of last month, residents of Baraboo and other communities in Sauk County found blank nationalist propaganda in their mailboxes, prompting some to mobilize against hate in their communities. .
Elana Kahn, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, announced Tuesday that a coalition of Jewish groups at the national and national levels would appeal to the Baraboo School District to offer anti-bias resources – including survivors of the Holocaust and their family members – likely to help students understand the context and consequences of their actions.
"We are much more interested in education than in punishment," Kahn said. His organization, part of the Jewish Federation of Milwaukee, tracks anti-Semitic incidents in Wisconsin.
"I really think we need to rethink how schools teach values," she said. "The goal is to nurture children who can become leaders in a diverse society."
Pete Gust, the former photographer turned photographer who photographed the image, told the Associated Press that he had asked teens to say goodbye to their parents before going to the prom.
Jordan Blue, one of the students, who did not raise his arm, said that he thought that some students had the intention to make the Nazi salute as a joke.
"When I saw what was happening, I was so angry," Blue told WITI-TV, Milwaukee. "If I knew what was going on, I would not have gone there, I do not believe in that kind of disrespect."
After being taken in May, Gust posted the photo on his photographic website, Wheel Memories. He took it on Monday and apologized after posting it on social media. It has been widely shared, provoking sharp criticism from Jewish individuals and organizations.
The Baraboo School District stated that he was investigating the matter and that the local police stated that she was participating in the investigation,
"If the gesture is what it seems to be, the district will pursue all available and appropriate actions, including legal ones, to solve the problem," Mueller said in a letter to parents on Monday.
At the Baraboo School Board meeting on Monday night, about half a dozen speakers addressed the issue.
Baraboo School Board Chair Kevin Vodak, pointing out that he was speaking as a private citizen, said the photo "has deeply disappointed me, has made me feel ashamed," he said. dismayed and miffed me ".
"The photo profoundly upset my personal belief in the process put in place by our community and our school district to show tolerance, inclusion, acceptance and acceptance of all who are different of ourselves, "he said. The school and the community of 12,000 inhabitants are more than 90% white.
Earlier Monday, about 100 people gathered near the courthouse for a rally for the unit that, according to organizers, was intended to send a positive message about Baraboo.
"The goal is to show that Baraboo is a love affair," said organizer Sherri Schaaf.
Contribute: The Associated Press. Follow Annysa Johnson on Twitter: @JSEdbeat
Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/11/14/nazi-salute-fallout-baraboo-high-school-boys-wisconsin/1997185002/
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