FERNDALE, Mich. – Administrators at Ferndale High School jumped into action last week after a student brought a noose to school.
Workers at the high school immediately acted on Thursday when they found out what happened, doing what they could to make sure students felt comfortable at school.
"You name the ethnicity, diversity and we have it in our building," Ferndale Public Schools Superintendent Blake Prewitt said. "We had some students that came to the administration, reported that there was a student with a rope saying it was a noose in his backpack."
The student no longer attends Ferndale High School after the incident, and the next day, the school held an assembly.
"We invited multiple community members, some of our local pastors and local leaders, and myself and high school principal talked to the students, gave them the information and we talked a lot about the diverse and inclusive environment we all love and that the students love," Prewitt said.
"It had to do with race, too, and that's crazy," said high school senior Justina Tehlirian. "Our school is an open type of school."
"It's good to know the school is not going to let it go like it's not important, very important, to address it and let people know it's definitely not OK," said Maria Tehlirian, Justina's mother.
Prewitt said the school is sending a strong message "to not sweep something under the carpet, to show that even though one person makes a mistake, what we stand for as a school, what we stand for as a community."
The Ferndale Police Department was notified about the incident. It released the following statement:
"The school resource officer, who was present inside the high school, was notified and investigated any possible criminal aspect of this incident. Our initial investigation has determined that this student did not take any actions, either in word or deed, that constituted a crime and the investigation into this incident remains open."