Two Calgary teenagers are facing harsh criticism after photos of the pair in what appear to be Ku Klux Klan outfits started making rounds on social media.
Students at St. Francis High School in Calgary threw a birthday party over the weekend, and the event called for guests to dress entirely in white. The two young men, who attend the school, decided to show up dressed head to toe in white attire, and wore what appear to be pointed, conical white hoods.
After these images started popping up on Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook, many people were outraged.
"I've never been so shocked that I've opened something and been like 'Oh my God. What is that? Who is that?'" Sarah Ghebrezghi, a former student St. Francis High School, told CTV Calgary.
A friend of the teens said that there was no malicious intent, but Ghebrezghi said that doesn't excuse their actions.
"It's not something to say a joke about," she said, "It’s not something to dress up as, even talking about it in a non-serious matter is not even appropriate in any way."
And students at St. Francis High School have spoken out against the costumes.
"The amount of people that were offended at our school, it made me happy that it wasn't just the black people at our school that were like 'oh some white kid did this, it was literally every race,'" said Abby Cornelius, a grade 12 student.
Cornelius said that one of the boys sent her a text apologizing for the incident. He told her that he wouldn't be at school for a few days.
She believes the two boys should be disciplined for their actions.
"People have been saying to us how this isn’t racism, this is stupidity. People do stupid things every day, that doesn't mean they should be getting away with it," she said.
"It's not right to go to a party dress as a KKK."
Calgary Police investigated the incident, and they said the boys wore pillow cases on their heads at the party to cover themselves in white – not to look like the KKK.
The two young men were instructed to take the pillow cases off, but the pictures had already been circulated on social media.
Despite the fact that the incident occurred off school grounds, officials with the Calgary Catholic School District say the boys have been disciplined. The school board did not reveal the extent or nature of the discipline, but said that their actions had a negative impact on the school community.
