A Wisconsin high school student wore a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) uniform during his english class presentation the morning of April 18, stirring uproar from school officials and fellow students alike.
The student, who remains unnamed, wore the KKK outfit while talking about crime in the 1920s at Westosha Central High School located on 75th Street in Salem.
Principal Lisa Albrecht posted a statement on Monday on the school’s Facebook page apologizing to students and parents, adding that it was the teen’s “eagerness to do a good job” that led him to wear the costume.
The post has since been taken down.
Below is a screenshot of the then deleted post:
Albrecht told the Daily News that the Wisconsisn teen did not mean any harm and he “just feels awful” about it.
“The student that did it, he just feels awful,” Albrecht said. “He gave me the presentation and he goes, ‘I should have just held it up, I shouldn’t have worn it.”
Classmate Breanna Beitzel captured the presentation and uploaded a picture to Twitter.
only at central ... pic.twitter.com/VEko25Pm5S
— bre (@breannabeitzel) April 18, 2016
“Why???” another student wrote on Twitter:
Why??? pic.twitter.com/KUMX5uDjwi
— Jess. (@JessicaBatko) April 18, 2016
According to the Inquisitr, the students had been reading “the Great Gatsby” for their 11th grade honors English class, and were assigned topics related to the time period.
Jack Harris, who lives near the high school told Fox6, “He’s not wearing it to recess. He’s wearing it for educational purposes. If that’s what his presentation was and he wanted to wear it, yeah he should.”
Others, however, like Brett Sandberg, an alumnus of Westosha Central High School, says she just “can’t believe” someone would wear the costume. She thinks “it should have been shown instead of worn."
According to Albrecht, because the student wore the KKK uniform, it has given the impression that students at the school are racist.
“The social media part is just as hurtful,” Albrecht told the Daily News.
“Unfortunately, what’s happened is so many people have jumped on the bandwagon.”
