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Royal Oak Students Chant 'Build A Wall' In Cafeteria

ROYAL OAK (CBS Detroit) School administrators in suburban Royal Oak were forced to address it after a group of students chanted "build a wall" in their school cafeteria.

It's a reference to President-Elect Donald Trump's rallying cry at campaign events about the wall he promised to build along the Rio Grande to keep Mexicans from crossing the border.

The video was shared on Facebook with a message about it making Latino students cry. It's unclear who shot the video, but school officials said staff intervened.

Supt. Shawn Lewis-Lakin told CBS Detroit because of the intensity of the reaction on social media there is a police presence at the school today. Some parents are picking up their kids early.

He said he spent time talking to students at lunch to try to get to the root of the issue. "Whether it was a handful of seventh graders or if it was something more, whenever words and actions cause another student pain or cause another student to question their value, it's a big deal. If it causes pain for another, it's a big deal," Lewis-Lakin. "Our goal is simple -- To help students understand regardless of the intent ... Think about how it's perceived."

He said they have a strong proactive, positive, inclusive culture at the school.

"But clearly we have more work to do," he said.

One parent of a child in the school told CBS Detroit her son was in the room, but not involved and she would have been mortified and embarrassed if he had been chanting a message of exclusion and hate. She said kids and parents have been threatened on Facebook, and parents are picking up their kids early in fear over their safety.

"We now have a community full of scared parents and they don't want their children to be at the school," she said. "Now, innocent kids are being threatened and that's not OK to me."

Royal Oak's superintendent sent a letter to parents reiterating their inclusive stance and reminding them about the fact everyone has to move forward post-election with respect.

"Yesterday, November 9, 2016, there was an incident during one of the lunches at Royal Oak Middle School that was captured on video and posted to social media. In the incident a small group of students engaged in a brief "build the wall" chant. School personnel in the cafeteria responded when this occurred.

We are committed to providing a safe, secure, and supportive learning environment for all students. We addressed this incident when it occurred. We are addressing it today. We are working with our students to help them understand the impact of their words and actions on others in their school community. Our school district and each building in it works every day to be a welcoming community for all, inclusive and caring, where all students know they are valued, safe and supported.

Because of the strong emotions and intensity of rhetoric that the posting of this incident to social media has elicited, we have had families express concern regarding student safety. Know that we work with our partners in law enforcement on responding to any and all threats that have been or will be made involving our students or schools.

In responding to this incident – indeed in responding to this election – we need to hear each other's stories, not slogans, we need to work towards understanding, not scoring points, and we need to find a way to move forward that respects and values each and every member of our community. We will be working on this in school today. Please work on this with us."

Michigan helped elect Trump by a margin of about 13,000 votes, though in Oakland County, which includes Royal Oak, Democrat Hillary Clinton won 51 percent of votes to Trump's 43 percent.

Demographically, about 91 percent of Royal Oak's 57,236 residents are Caucasian, 4 percent are African American and 1 percent are Hispanic. The median family income is $68,109, and 51 percent of residents have a college degree.

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