CALGARY – A photo of a Calgary high school student wearing what appears to be a KKK uniform at a party sparked controversy this past week, but police say it’s a misunderstanding propelled by social media posts.
Many students at St. Francis High School who saw the photo were upset and offended.
“I heard some kid dressed up as a KKK member and went to a party,” said student Andres Garzon. “Apparently it was an all white people party.”
“I thought it was terrible because it is very disrespectful to the kids growing up in St. Francis,” said Gandhi Manzano.
The photo is from a house party over the weekend, and shows a student in a white hood. That’s why people believed it was linked to the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan.
“The theme of the party was to dress in all white clothing because they were going to have black lights at this house party which was parent supervised,” said Calgary Police Sgt. Duane Lepchuk.
“A couple of the boys, being teenage boys, not thinking, decided to cover their head with white garments.”
Police said the kids took off the hoods when asked by the parents, and the party carried on. But not before the photo was taken.
Many tweets mention the photo and its disturbing connotations, but police say it’s a misunderstanding and the students didn’t intend to come off as racist.
“There’s no reference to the KKK or any extremist view, it was just cover ourselves head to toe in white garments as the theme of the party was dictating,” said Lepchuk. “There was no criminal intent behind their behaviour—probably the farthest thing on their minds at the time. They’re good students at the school.”
Tunde Dawodu, the artistic director at Calgary’s Afrikadey, said the situation needs to be put in context, and he’d like to see the situation move forward.
“The best thing to do with these kids is to talk to them,” said Dawodu. “Don’t get mad with them: Talk to them, understand what they are trying to achieve, and then tell them why it’s offensive. Dialogue is the best way out.
“We can’t stand there and think everything should be taught at school. Let’s teach ourselves in our community. From there we can know what is wrong and what is right.”
The police school resource officer team says there was no disciplinary action taken, as there was never any intent for harm, but that doesn’t undo the offence felt by many students.
“I saw the picture and thought it was rude and disrespectful,” added Garzon.
“I think it’s really bad that someone would act like that,” said Andres Mallan. “I think it’s disrespectful. We’re all human and we all love each other.”
With files from Jayme Doll
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