Over one hundred students walked out of Wilson High School Friday afternoon in protest of their administration’s perceived mishandling of several racist incidents on campus.

Synceire Bivens, president of the school’s Black Student Union (BSU) and a sophomore at Wilson, told the Mercury that the event was in response to three recent separate incidents of white students calling Black students the n-word, one of which was reported in the Oregonian last month.

Bivens said that to his knowledge, two of the three students who used the n-word had been either suspended or expelled from Wilson. However, after one incident, a group of Black students was chastised by the administration for yelling at the white student who has used the slur.

“They were pulled aside and told that they didn’t handle it the right way, even though all they did was talk to her and explain why that wasn’t okay,” Bivens said.

Bivens said that Wilson’s administration sent out an email to parents after the third incident—but that there had been no direct communication about it to students.

“The school didn’t talk to the students themselves—all they did was send an email,” he said. “If someone is being threatened and their safety is in jeopardy, people need to know.”

In an open letter to Wilson’s administration, the protesting students wrote that the racist language had been distressing to students of color at Wilson, a predominantly white high school located in Southwest Portland's Hillsdale neighborhood.

“On social media and in private conversations with friends these negative events caused a lasting impact that is still being felt today,” they wrote. “After the incidents of the N-word on campus students began making a mockery of the issue on social media and particularly on an Instagram page. We were powerless to fix this because we can’t educate everyone and there are not many of us. The school is not doing anything about this. This sends a clear message: it is okay to use hate speech.”

The students write that their goal in walking out is to “receive public acknowledgment of future racial issues in both the classroom and school-wide communities.”

When reached for comment, Portland Public Schools, Wilson's school district, sent a statement which reads in part:

"Hate speech, racially insensitive acts, and all forms of racism are abhorrent and unwelcome in all PPS schools. We are working with urgency to better understand the concerns expressed by students at Wilson and to ensure a safe, inclusive, welcoming learning environment for our students. ...

In the short-term, teachers and other staff will work on designing listening sessions and creating an action plan to partner with incoming Principal Hristic to ensure Wilson is safe, accepting and welcoming to all.

Our hope is that in both the short-term and into the 2019-20 school year we provide space for students to learn about the impact of their actions and words and how to address issues when they see them. We also will be working with our climate team on how to ensure a culture in which students feel comfortable reporting concerns and adults are addressing all concerns. This is ongoing work and will be at the forefront of plans for next year. "