Students 'no longer members' of Winchester Thurston after video mocking George Floyd

Multiple students no longer attend Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh after the social media posting of a viral video mocking the death of George Floyd, according to a letter from the head of the school.

A video, filmed inside Winchester Thurston’s upper school campus in Shadyside, was posted two weeks ago on Snapchat. It showed a white student kneeling on another white student’s neck as other students laughed at the scene. A day later, the private school sent a letter to parents, saying that officials were investigating the matter.

Many students, including members of the school’s Black Student Union, criticized the initial pace of the response.

According to another letter sent this week by Head of School Scott D. Fech, the students who made the video violated the school’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy and are “no longer members of [the Winchester Thurston] community.”

“I understand that many have been frustrated with how long it has taken to move through this process, as well as what is perceived to be a lack of transparency,” wrote Fech. “With a matter such as this one, it was crucial that we allowed our processes to guide our work.”

It’s unclear how many students were removed from Winchester Thurston’s Upper School. School administrators declined to comment on the disciplinary actions when reached Wednesday evening by the Tribune-Review.

“We are moving forward with multiple Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives to address concerns raised by this incident,” Fech said in an emailed statement. “We will be inviting all students to join in creating a shared vision for what WT must do to be the community we say we are and embody our credo, ‘Think also of the comfort and the rights of others.’ ”

In his letter to parents, Fech wrote that the school will take more steps to “rebuild trust,” including a professional development day to provide training and two days of student activities to help them process the incident.

On Thursday, Fech will be holding separate meetings with Upper School students and Middle School students to address concerns.

“I have learned a great deal through this investigation and understand that there are microaggressions and other harmful actions that are happening each day,” wrote Fech. He said these need to be addressed head-on.

“Additionally, our policies, procedures, and consequences need more clarity around issues specifically related to violations of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”