Smithtown High School West teacher Veronica Welsh has been punished for calling her students who wear Trump gear racists. The comment on her personal social media account stirred up strong feelings within the student body as well as among the parents.
A Long Island teacher faces backlash over a Facebook post calling some of her students “racist.”
The halls of Smithtown High School West echoed with debate and heated conversation Friday as students reacted to the world language teacher’s social media post.
A screenshot of Veronica Welsh’s post was circulated, which read, “This week is spirit week at Smithtown HS West. It’s easy to spot which students are racist by the Trump gear they’re sporting for USA Day.”
Students, dressed in school colors, had vehement reactions.
“She made a mistake by putting the school’s name in it,” one student told CBS2’s Jennifer McLogan. “But she has a right to her opinion.”
“It’s her personal account too, not like she went into school and wrote it or anything. She has the right to do it,” another student said.
“It’s not a good idea because then like she influences the students with the same ideas,” another said.
The school’s superintendent called the posting an extremely unfortunate incident and highly inappropriate.
Welsh was not in school Friday, and CBS2 was not able to reach her at her home nor on her phone.
The original Facebook post was taken down, but parents continued to share their opinions.
“There’s no reason for her to pass judgement on those kids on a social platform,” one parent told McLogan.