A student recorded a teacher discussing a racial slur in class at Glendale High School in Springfield.
The school also suspended Mary Walton, the student who recorded the video, from May 15 to 17. She wants to return to class and get an apology from the school.
In the video, a teacher whose identity has not been revealed is heard asking why Black people can use the n-word but it is offensive if other people do it.
Walton says the conversation had been going on for a while, and the teacher had used the n-word multiple times before she started recording. In it, the teacher uses the word two more times. One student cautions the teacher while another gasps.
The teacher eventually noticed Walton recording and told her to stop. Walton refused. Walton told KSHB that she did not post the video to social media. She shared it with her mom and one friend, but it spread from there.
According to a statement from Walton's lawyer, Natalie Hull, the school said that Walton violated the district's electronic device policy. Walton received the maximum punishment for the infraction, a three-day suspension.
"Mary saw a teacher do something wrong, and she documented it," Hull says. "Language can be harmful, and Mary captured proof of her teacher, a person who is supposed to protect children, harming them through his use of a racial slur. If he had been hitting a student — or worse — would the school have reacted the same? Frankly, this school is exercising a chilling effect on all of the students by sending the message that they will get in trouble if they capture evidence of their teachers doing something wrong."
Hull and Walton want the school to lift the suspension, allow Walton to immediately return to class and apologize.
The RFT reached out to Glendale School district for comment, but it has told other outlets it cannot comment on student disciplinary actions.
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