HADLEY — Police are investigating a video posted to social media featuring a Hopkins Academy student uttering racial slurs and advocating violence and white supremacy.

Hadley Police Sgt. Mitchell Kuc said police have determined that the speech on the video, circulated on Instagram and Facebook, wasn’t directed toward a specific person.

Kuc posted a note to the department’s Facebook page shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday saying the department had no credible information to believe that the video was produced at or posted from Hopkins Academy, or anywhere in Hadley. Police also determined the student is not a resident of Hadley.

Kuc said police were notified of the video on Dec. 2, the day it drew attention from the school.

“We had our school resource officer over at the school fairly quickly,” Kuc said. “We started working hand-in-hand with the school at that point.”

Police have met with the high school student as well as the student’s parents, according to Kuc.

Reached Thursday afternoon, Superintendent Anne S. McKenzie said the school has taken steps, immediately following the incident and since then, to ensure the safety of all students, enforce the school’s code of conduct and respond to concerns.

Students individually and in groups were given the opportunity to speak with the school’s counselors to express their concerns as well as provide recommendations on how to foster a community of respect in which civil rights are safeguarded for all, according to McKenzie.

McKenzie said the school communicated with law enforcement about the video.

“It’s their wheelhouse to determine what constitutes a crime,” she said.

The school also held an assembly at which two students spoke about the impacts of comments like the ones made in the video, McKenzie said.

McKenzie declined to say if any disciplinary action was taken by the school, citing privacy laws.

“Generally speaking, when a student engages in any violation of the student handbook, we follow the student handbook,” she said.

The handbook includes a list of infractions and the potential accompanying punishments.

Two years ago, Hopkins Academy began the Embrace Diversity Club in response to minority students who said they faced almost daily expressions of racism within the school.

In the last academic year, students of color made up 15.6 percent of the school’s 270 students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12 at the Hadley public school.

While the U.S. Supreme Court has generally considered such speech protected under the First Amendment unless direct threats are made to an individual, schools are are often more restrictive, University of Massachusetts journalism professor Karen List said Thursday.

State law stipulates that “action against a student speaker would require the threat of disruption to the school,” she said.

“In my opinion, the best answer to speech like this is more speech, and that seems to be exactly what the school is doing by holding an assembly and providing counselors,” List said.

In a Dec. 2 message from McKenzie, the school administrator reassured parents of the school’s policy and mission.

“The administration was made aware of a disturbing video posted on social media expressing opinions that drastically contravene with the mission, vision, values, and beliefs of our staff, students, and the Hadley Public Schools community,” McKenzie wrote.

“I want to reassure our students, staff, families and the community of Hadley that our district does not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, economic status, or ethnic background.”

“We believe that every person has the right to feel safe and valued in our schools,” the statement continued. “To that end, we will continue to require members of our community to behave in ways that reflect these values and respond appropriately when expectations for civility and respecting the rights of others have been violated.”

The school continues to have meetings with teachers and students to evaluate the school climate and is looking into more professional development opportunities, according to McKenzie.

Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.

]]>