Thread: Black student president resigns after mocking ‘rich white guy’ classmates

Black student president resigns after mocking ‘rich white guy’ classmates

Posted: Jul 01, 2014 1:46 PM PDT Updated: Jul 01, 2014 1:47 PM PDT By Megan Bowie, Digital Content Producer -

Maya Peterson, the first black student president at what is said to be the most expensive high school in the country, was forced to resign after posting online photos of herself mocking her “rich white guy’’ classmates.

Last March, Peterson uploaded a photo on her Instagram page in which she was wearing a Yale University sweater, L.L. Bean boots, and holding a hockey stick. The Lawrenceville School Student Body President captioned her photo with the statement “Lawrenceville boi : white, Republican, and cockily holding a hockey stick.” She also added the hashtags “#romney2016,” “#confederate,” and “#peakedinhighschool.”

Peterson, who graduated from the New Jersey prep school in June, said the posting was only a joke, and inspired by classmates who complained to Lawrenceville’s Dean of Students about Peterson’s senior class picture. In this photo, she and 10 friends, raised their fists in a “Black Power” salute.

Not everybody found this funny as one student took to Instagram to comment, “You’re the student body president, and you’re mocking and blatantly insulting a large group of the school’s male population.”

Peterson replied with “Yes, I am making a mockery of the right-wing, confederate-flag hanging, openly misogynistic Lawrentians… If that’s a large portion of the school’s male population, then I think the issue is not with my bringing attention to it in a lighthearted way, but rather why no one has brought attention to it before.’’

After the Instagram photo surfaced, school officials told Peterson that she would face disciplinary action if she did not resign as student body president. The Dean of Students Nancy Thomas told the school paper, “It was not fitting of a student leader to make comments mocking members of the community.”

Peterson, who is unapologetic for her posting, told Buzzfeed, “I understand why I hurt people's feelings, but I didn't become president to make sure rich white guys had more representation on campus.”

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/25918943/black-student-president-resigns-after-mocking-rich-white-guy-classmates

Attitude adjustment needed?