15-year-old student Mary Walton was suspended from Glendale High School in Springfield, Missouri after she recorded a video of her white teacher saying the N-word twice in less than a minute, NBC News reportd.
Walton recorded the video during a geometry class after the teacher said the racial slur multiple times. A fellow student objected to the teacher's use of the word, which prompted Walton to take out her phone and record. "I'm not calling anyone a n****r, I can say the word," the teacher can be heard saying in the video.
While the school hasn't identified the teacher, Springfield Public Schools said that he is no longer employed by the school district. Walton's lawyer, Natalie Hull, said the student was suspended for three days after recording the video, per a school policy against recording faculty without their consent.
“It is absolutely impressive that the 15-year-old girl knew something was happening and stood up in the face of it and said: ‘I’m going to document this,'" said Hull. "'I’m going to stand up for what’s right, no matter what. And I am going to make sure that this is brought to light.' ... Mary was trying to provide indisputable documentation of the monumental wrong she was witnessing in class. Mary does not understand why she got punished, because she did the right thing."
In a statement, the school district's spokesperson Stephen Hall called the incident "unacceptable," but defended the suspension of Walton. "The student handbook is clear, however, on consequences for inappropriate use of electronic devices," the statement reads. "Any consequences applied per the scope and sequence would also consider if minors are identifiable in the recording and what, if any, hardships are endured by other students due to a violation of privacy with the dissemination of the video in question."
