Racial slurs shouted during RRMS meeting

Posted October 2020

By Taj O'Malley

Staff Editor

Racial slurs were targeted towards African-Americans attending Ron Russell Middle School’s “virtual Back-to-School night” on Wednesday, Sept 16, shouted by a yet-to-be identified intruder of the meeting.

“[The perpetrator was] not a user within our staff and student Google Domain,” said David Douglas School District Superintendent Ken Richardson.

Identifying the perpetrator will be a challenge because web users outside of the DDSD Google Domain have their email address protected by Google. However, DDSD was able to identify a part of the perpetrator’s email.

In response, DDSD has informed staff how to protect itself from Google Meets intrusion, asking teachers to avoid letting in any student that has to ask to be let in, even if the teacher, “recognize[s] the name.”

Teachers should avoid doing so because any student signed into their Google account will not have to request access. However, teachers have been encouraged to set their Google Meets up so that all students have to request access. This way students who may be part of the DDSD Google Domain, but not part of a specific class, cannot intrude.

The “Back-to-School” virtual session was intended for 7th and 8th grade students and their families to receive information about the layout for this school year. There was a presentation by the staff, followed by a Q and A session for the families. When the slurs were shouted, RRMS leadership removed the intruder immediately, allowing for the virtual session to continue, but the damage was done.