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Tom Lovell, who is the principal of Oregon City High School, responded to a racially charged video with a tweet condemning it on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016.
Two Oregon City High School students face possible expulsion after a video emerged of them on social media using a racial epithet to refer to African Americans at their school and the school principal, according to a story first reported Monday by KATU-TV.
The students also refer to transgender people in a derogatory way.
A former Oregon City High School student who is upset about the video posted it to his Twitter account Friday after coming across it on the social media platform Snapchat. The student led into the video by writing: "People in OC don't get it ..."
In the video, two teenagers can be seen sitting in a moving car: One is driving, while the other is in the passenger seat. During the 11-second video clip, one smiles and laughs as the other comments about people at the school, including Principal Tom Lovell.
The conversation goes as follows: "What about (epithet)? Tom Lovell is a (expletive epithet). Arranges five (epithet) a day come new to the school at OCHS. ...(Expletive) you, (epithet) bastard..."
Lovell, the principal, responded Friday to the video.
"Exactly the type of negative behavior that we've been trying to stop," Lovell wrote on Twitter. "It won't be tolerated. There will be severe consequences for this."
Monday evening, a school district spokesperson told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the district is delving into an investigation:
"The Oregon City High School administration takes these issues and this incident very seriously. We are proud of the students who reported the incident and shared the recording with Principal Tom Lovell.
...Although school is not in session for the winter break, administrators took swift action in response. An investigation is underway and individual students will face disciplinary action up to and possibly including expulsion, according to the Student Code of Conduct. School administrators will also work with the students involved to make this situation a teachable moment and assist them in efforts to repair the pain caused by their actions and words.
The language captured on this video is vulgar, crass and hateful. It is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our community or schools. We stand united against all acts of bigotry and hatefulness in order to promote the welcoming and inclusive learning environment to which every student at Oregon City High School is entitled."
The video, which spread through social media, also was stirring disapproval from commenters.
"I just can't believe that I know this kid ... what a shame," wrote one person on Twitter.
The school was at the center of several other racially charged incidents this fall.
In October, someone tweeted a photo of a group of students standing behind a sign that read "Welcome back to the farm (epithet)." A white-hooded figure was sketched next to the message.
The next day, a black student tweeted: "'racism is dead in america,' so tell me why i came back from work outs to a hateful note like this ..." The photo she tweeted shows a doormat, with a handwritten note referring to slavery and saying, "Black Lives Doesn't (sic) Matter."
The day after that, someone used photoshop to place derogatory slogans onto a picture of students holding a #BlackLivesMatter sign. Other students at the school responded with disgust -- and staged a walkout to condemn the spate of behavior.
That same week in October, Lovell said he spoke to the entire school about racism.
"We have been working with our staff on identifying racist behaviors in our school and how to handle situations that come up in classes," Lovell said.
-- Aimee Green
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