Anonymous hate messages sent to Asian American high school students, Rocklin district says
Asian American high schoolers in Rocklin received hateful anonymous messages on social media over the weekend, the Rocklin Unified School District said.
According to district spokesman Sundeep Dosanjh, Whitney High School launched an investigation over the weekend after students in the school’s Asian Youth Leadership Association club reported to the district that an anonymous Instagram account had sent them hate messages. Any students identified as involved in sending the messages will be “disciplined,” Dosanjh said in a statement, although the type of disciplinary action was not specified.
CBS Sacramento reported that the messages contained a hateful cartoon and words, along with racial slurs used against people of Chinese descent and the message that Chinese students “aren’t welcome at Whitney and y’all know it.”
“Rocklin Unified School District is disturbed and saddened by the hate crimes and discrimination members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community are experiencing,” Dosanjh said in the statement. “Rocklin Unified School District prioritizes anti-bullying, equity, and inclusivity on all of its campuses and is committed to provide a positive, safe, and welcoming atmosphere where students can unite, respect, and celebrate the diverse school community through school events.”
In January, a Whitney student was disciplined after displaying the Confederate flag on their vehicle, which school officials said violated the district’s freedom of speech policy.
And in August last year, a Whitney graduate called on the school district to mandate more curriculum on Asian American history after learning that the school was named after a white landowner who historians say exploited Chinese laborers.
This incident also comes amid a rise in anti-Asian discrimination across the country, with more than 1,600 anti-Asian hate incidents reported in California since March 2020. A mass shooting in Atlanta last week that left eight dead, six of whom were Asian women, has also shook the Sacramento community.