The video, which was first posted on Snapchat, shows a students spelling out the word "n***er" while playing hangman, a game in which players have to decipher a mystery word by guessing letters to fill in a set of spaces corresponding to the number of letters in the word.
— ⚡️ dokes ⚡️ (@johndokess) May 29, 2018
The video later cuts off as the students complete the word and begin to laugh.
Hours after the video made the rounds on Tuesday, Hollidaysburg Superintendent Bob Gildea released a statement on Facebook, calling the students' act "abhorrent."
"The Hollidaysburg Area School District is deeply disturbed by the offensive actions and related social media posting which appears to have originated from one of our students" Gildea wrote. "We have been in contact with local law enforcement and swift and appropriate action will be imposed on those responsible. This behavior is an embarrasment to our students, staff and community and we sincerely apologize for all who are offended by the abhorrent behavior of those involved."
Speaking with local station WTAJ, Gildea explained that the four students involved in the incident had asked to go into a different classroom across the hall while the rest of the students watched a movie.
"The teacher had eye contact with them, was monitoring them across the hall, but naturally, she wasn't physically in the room with them and didn't know what they were drawing on the board," Gildea said, before stressing that the incident would be a teaching moment.
"Students really need to realize the damage that can be done, not just to other people who are offended or affected by their actions, but also to their own personal future because things that are posted on the internet don't go away," he added.
Though Gildea steered clear of stating what disciplinary actions the students would see, the superintendent did say that the punishments would be following them into the next school year. All four students were underclassmen.
According to the Altoona Mirror, one student, who the publication did not want to identify, admitted to the wrongdoing before stating that they were "not a racist."
"I have many black friends and I shouldn't have used that word. I'm a stupid kid and I was just trying to be funny," the student's Facebook post, according to the outlet, stated. "I know now that it is not funny and I'm very sorry to anyone offended by the post. It was a dumb mistake and was only to be pointed at one person. Which, he is a very good friend of mine."
The post went on to say that two of the four students involved in the fiasco have received death threats, which the local Hollidaysburg police are currently investigating.
"I am very sorry to the ones that I offended and everyone that is involved in this," the post concluded.
The Hollidaysburg Area School District is considering measures including adding tolerance training to its curriculum, holding assemblies or starting a parent-student group to discuss diversity, WTAJ reported.
