Outraged parents and students protested after a Massachusetts high school allowed a student to return to class after he posted inappropriate photographs of his female schoolmates on social media.
Protesters said that students didn’t feel safe at Westfield High School after the student was suspended for posting 200 of these photographs, but was allowed back to class after his punishment.
“They were very inappropriate pictures, some were taken at beach day, some were taken inside of the classroom, mostly pictures of their backsides,” said Lisa Auffrey, a parent of a Wakefield student, to WBZ-TV. “This has been emotionally taxing for them. It has been a huge disruption.”
The hundreds of photographs were posted to the Discord social media platform where the student encouraged others to rank the girls and even sold some of the images.
“These pictures were taken without their consent, they didn’t even know what was going on,” said Robert Imbriano, another parent. “From the beginning, it was very traumatic for my daughter.”
Parents say the punishment was not harsh enough and they are angry at the lack of communication from school officials.
“We understand he’s entitled to an education, but unfortunately at this point, we think the education should be elsewhere,” Imbriano explained.
An email to parents on Thursday from school officials explained that they had worked with police immediately after learning about the incident.
“We want to reassure you that extensive steps have been taken to maintain a safe school environment. We will continue to promptly and proactively address any threat to the privacy, safety, and well-being of our students,” read the statement from Wakefield school officials Douglas Lyons and Kara Mauro.
Parents say they plan to protest on Monday again when the student is scheduled to return to class.
“All the girls stood up and talked to the school and they didn’t do anything,” said one girl. “They’re trying to make themselves look good in a way and it is really frustrating for all of us who don’t feel safe in the school.”
Here’s more about the protest:
‘School Should Feel Safe’: Parents Protest Student Returning To Wakefield High School
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