School officials: Racial slur circulating on social media will not be tolerated

( March 27, 2024, updated 1:45 p.m. ) School officials won’t tolerate racial slurs like the one contained in a picture depicting island students being circulated on social media, Nantucket High School principal Mandy Vasil said in a letter to parents Tuesday night.

"In the picture, a few of our students are holding up what appears to be a very inappropriate racial slur,” the letter, signed by Vasil and assistant principals Jennifer Psaradelis and Tracy Mailloux, said. “We are investigating this incident and have started talking to students and parents.”

The letter made clear that the school will not tolerate racial slurs or racist behaviors from students.

It also said that while the incident took place outside of school property and has had a significant effect on the student body at large.

“We will be monitoring the health and well-being of our students and expect there will be reparations that are suitable to the damage caused to our school community,” the letter said.

Superintendent Beth Hallett told The Inquirer and Mirror Wednesday morning that the incident is still under investigation.

“We’re still determining what the best course of action is for supporting our students," she said.

"We’re certainly working with students around how to find a solution, and a lot of students want to be part of a solution to educate themselves and their peers around racial slurs and hate speech.”

Hallett declined to identify the students in the photo, and said she can't discuss specific consequences or punishments for those involved.

While the photo was taken outside of school hours, Hallett said the school has a zero-tolerance policy regarding racism and has the duty to respond to an incident like this when "it affects the daily functioning of the school."

“We’re trying to be proactive here,” she said. “It’s really important because we want our students to be respectful citizens, and that’s really important, so we will do what we can to make sure it’s clear around what racial slurs and hate speech mean, and be clear that we do not tolerate that in any way.”