This story has been updated to include a statement from Logan High School.
A northern Utah school district said it was committed to fostering an environment of inclusion after administrators removed two offensive student-created posters from a classroom earlier this year.
One poster that hung in an English teacher’s classroom depicted a “border defender,” while another included the title of “border hopper” and showed a figure with a mustache and sombrero.
Each poster included a list of “flaws” and “strengths” next to the drawings. The “border hopper” was described as “fast as a speeding bullet,” “constructive as Bob the Builder,” “cooks tacos like Gordon Ramsay,” and “disappears in a puff of smoke from I.C.E.”
“We are grateful for the students who communicated their concerns with the images they observed in a classroom,” Logan School District spokesperson Shana Longhurst said in a statement. “Their information allowed the school administration to respond by ensuring the removal of the images, and provide additional reminders to staff of the need to ensure images that are on display, including images created by students, promote an environment of inclusion.”
Logan High School officials initially declined to comment, including on whether the images were made for a specific assignment and what factors the teacher considered in deciding to put them on display.
After this story published, the school issued a statement on its website saying the posters were created as part of a lesson on heroes and villains and the attributes of each of them.
“Those images should not have been posted,” the school wrote. “They were inappropriate and hurtful, and we regret the harm they caused to students at Logan High.” It noted that “the issue has been resolved and has been addressed with the teacher.”
A student in one of the teacher’s classes said the posters remained up for weeks even after making multiple complaints to administrators. Utah Public Radio is not naming the student because they fear harassment in school, but it has verified they attend the school.
“I thought that if a student made something like that, the teacher wouldn’t hang it up,” the student said. “But he just hung it up anyway.”
The student, who said they experienced an increase in racist comments at school and in their Logan neighborhood since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, added that they now feel uneasy about attending school.
“For me, school is one of my safe places,” the student said. “I am wondering what the heck is going on. Like, I’m here to learn; I’m not here to see that [the posters].”
Posters carry a ‘mental impact’
Dan Johnson, interim executive director of Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection, a nonprofit that offers resources to immigrants and refugees in the Cache Valley, said displaying posters that stereotype an entire group of people contributes to a negative school experience for many students. He said there are dozens of students at Logan High who are second- and third-generation citizens.
“There’s a mental impact with it,” Johnson said. “If you were a new immigrant to the United States, and you had come here legally, and you were looking for the American dream, that would probably give you pause: ‘Am I welcome here or not?’”
He added that when student-created work leads to situations like these, it’s important for the teacher to engage in a conversation with the students, focusing on why it’s important to avoid harmful stereotypes and why they should be sensitive to their classmates’ experiences.
Johnson said he is confident in the ability of Cache Valley teachers and principals to be available to concerned students and parents, based on what he hears from families.
“Kids and families,” he said, “they need to have a place where they can have a calm, considerate conversation about their concerns.”
‘They’ve all just vanished’
Another student, whom UPR is not naming because they also said they fear being harassed, said last month that many Latino students had stopped coming to school. UPR confirmed that this student also attends the school.
“They’ve all just vanished,” the student said. “Those posters probably didn’t help.”
The student said they have attended classes less often recently themselves, citing their recent experiences of being mocked and subjected to hurtful comments like, “Go back to Mexico.” Recently, the student said, they witnessed a Latino woman being yelled at for not understanding English on a city bus. The Trump administration’s policy allowing immigration enforcement at schools, the student said, has created a pervasive environment of fear.
“I’m scared to go out,” the student said. “I’ve been scared to speak up or even ride the bus anymore.”
But Longhurst, the school district spokesperson, said there has not been a noticeable drop in attendance in the recent months. The school’s “Newcomers” program for multilingual students, she said, reported attendance has not fallen at all since Trump’s return to office.
“We are grateful that these students have the connections at the school,” Longhurst said, “that provide feelings of safety and inclusion.”
She said the district “recognizes that the recent changes to federal immigration policy have prompted concerns for many members of our community, including for some of our students.”
School counselors and wellness staffers are available, she said, to support students experiencing anxiety, stress, or fear.
“Additionally, teachers have been given specific guidance on positively managing conversations with students who communicate their concerns with them,” Longhurst said. “Logan High is a diverse high school and the teachers and administration are committed to promoting the safety and well-being, whether physical or emotional, of every student. We encourage those who have interactions that cause them to feel uncomfortable, to immediately reach out to a counselor or a member of the administration so that it can be addressed.”
Despite these assurances, however, the unnamed students said they hope the school does more to make Latino students feel safe.
“Or stop making us feel like we’re different,” the second student said, “or like sort of monsters in their school.”
