Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

It was the first year the panoramic photo was taken indoors instead of on the bleachers. Some 800 high school seniors stood around in the gymnasium, buzzing with excitement during one of the first of many end-of-senior-year traditions.

Some wore homemade shirts coordinated with their friends to spell a phrase that was pre-approved by administrators, also a tradition among seniors. As they waited to be placed on the risers, many rearranged themselves into other words, playing a game of human Scrabble.

One group of 36 girls wore shirts spelling "BEST*YOU'VE*EVER*SEEN*CLASS*OF*2016."

Sparked with an idea, one of them grabbed a few friends and acquaintances from the group, pulled them to the side of the bleachers and rearranged them to spell the N-word, a photo she thought would be funny to send to her boyfriend. He's Black and they use the word with each other playfully, so why not heighten the joke with a photo?

The girls handed over a phone and lined up, one of them clueless to the word she was spelling. An acquaintance took the photo, they posted it to Snapchat, and so it began.

One screenshot and 30 minutes later, all six girls in the photo were in the front office, waiting to meet with administrators to deal with a photo that sparked a flurry of outrage, think pieces, harassment and threats from across the country.

The girls have not stepped foot on campus since.

As thousands of high school seniors across Phoenix shop for outfits and plan parties for their graduation, the girls are receiving district-issued diplomas and biding their time until college admission closes the door to the final chapter of their adolescence.

All the girls and their families were asked to comment for this story, but they have ignored or denied The Republic's requests. But school officials, community leaders close to the situation, and posts from the girls themselves on social media have revealed some of the ripple effects of a spontaneous act that captured the nation's attention.

What they've lost

The days after the photo were chaos. The girls received endless media attention, as well as harassment and some online threats of violence. Each of the girls' families found a lawyer and a public-relations agent to help them.

All six girls were suspended for at least 10 days and are finishing their high school classes through the district's online option. It's a sort of "unofficial expulsion," according to multiple people interviewed for this story, including Bri Handy, who created the change.org petition to have the girls expelled.

Handy marked her petition completed Feb. 26 after more than 50,000 people signed it. She said a source within the district told her that "the six students of this fiasco have not and will not be returning to the school."

At least three other students also were punished for their involvement with the photo, according to the Rev. Jarrett Maupin, a civil-rights activist who has been involved in the incident's fallout.

Many of the girls have posted on social media about taking classes only online, and one posted that administrators said they could not attend the official grad-night party on May 19 even though it's after their suspension date, suggesting she or they may have been suspended for more than 10 days.

They've been banned from school functions, including championship games for the sports teams to which they belonged, dances such as Sadie Hawkins and prom, and likely their own graduation.

Handy said none of the girls will walk at graduation, while Maupin said he was unsure.

Two of the girls were on the varsity soccer team, which won the school's first girls soccer state championship since 2005 this spring without them.

At least one of them, who was the team captain, had verbally committed to play soccer for Northern Arizona University, but the school withdrew its offer. Had the incident occurred after national signing day, a commitment could have protected that opportunity.

Desert Vista High School girl apologizes for N-word incident

One was on the girls' varsity track and field team. Another had been on the varsity dance line for two years – last year she was part of the group that performed with Katy Perry during the Super Bowl halftime show – but lost the chance to compete with the school in the 30th Annual Arizona State Cheer and Pom Tournament in March.

Rachel Steigerwald, who is the "R" in the photo and the only one of the girls to apologize publicly, posts often about sadness and regret. She wrote that she was heartbroken when she was banned from attending Relay for Life in April, an event in which hundreds of people walk the school's track overnight to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Maupin questions whether it had to be this way.

"It might have been good legal advice with respect to limiting disciplinary actions of the district but I think … the court of public opinion would have been a lot more merciful had they seen a unified apology" from all of the girls, he said.

District silent on punishment

Because of federal law, the Tempe Union High School District has been unable to comment on the girls' punishment, the total number of students disciplined or whether any of them will walk at graduation.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly called FERPA, makes it illegal for schools to release information on student discipline.

In the district's last statement on the matter, from a week after the incident, district officials urged the public to look at the district's student policies.

A first offense for "inappropriate language" is punishable by, at most, short-term suspension up to 10 days, according to the handbook.

That statement also hinted at the possibility for the girls to complete school online.

TUHSD "offers students facing a serious disciplinary consequence with the opportunity to take advantage of alternative educational programming in lieu of long-term suspension or expulsion," the statement said, an alternative that lets a student graduate but bans them from all school activities.

A closer look at 'All-White-tukee'

Desert Vista is in the Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood of Phoenix, which is isolated by design: It is almost fully surrounded by South Mountain Park and Gila River Reservation, earning it the nickname as “The World's Largest Cul-de-Sac."

For years, many who are familiar with the area have also called the neighborhood "All-White-tukee."

In the school's ZIP code, 85048, more than 80 percent of residents are White, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

It's also an affluent area. The median household income was $95,628 in 2014, according to federal statistics. By comparison, the national median was $53,482.

The ZIP code that is home to the richer segment of the school's students, deep-in-the-Foothills 85045, is more than 83 percent White and the median income was about $116,000.

As a result, the school has a larger White student population than many comparable Phoenix high schools, at 66 percent White, 13 percent Hispanic, 10 percent Asian and 7 percent Black, according to U.S. News & World Report.

By comparison, nearby Mountain Pointe High School is 46 percent White, 27 percent Hispanic, 16 percent Black and 5 percent Asian. Central High School in midtown Phoenix is 8 percent White, 67 percent Hispanic, 10 percent Black and 6 percent Asian.

Many students are the children of athletes, lawyers, engineers and professors. For years, the school's parking lot has been filled with Mercedes-Benzes and Range Rovers. Parents are known to be highly involved in students' academic and athletic lives.

Tatum Brimley, a DV senior, talked about the school's culture during a protest on campus a few days after the viral post.

"There are some times it feels a little bit like … the kids at this school are really privileged," Brimley said. "They don’t think they have to face the consequences."

"We heard everything walking up to that campus" during the protest, Maupin said, with adults calling protesters the N-word and asking "Why don’t you stay on your side of the mountain?"

"It let me know that Ahwatukee, in large part, is very isolated by choice," Maupin said.

The school has a history of Black administrators, and President Obama spoke there a few years ago.

Former Arizona State University football player and Associate Athletic Director Joe McDonald, who is Black, became principal of the school when it opened in 1996.

In 2005, a group of parents and former faculty members and staff accused McDonald of discrimination against students because of their race, economic status and other factors. McDonald retired in 2006.

McDonald's mentee Anna Battle, who is also Black, then became principal until 2014, when Christine Barela, who is White, took over.

Districtwide changes that may last years

The school hosted an assembly and sessions for its students to address diversity, social media and more in April.

All 3,100 students attended an hour-long assembly at which speakers talked about bigotry and managing your personal digital brand. All of the approximately 800 seniors were required to participate in workshops on cultural competency, social change, dehumanization and the causes and consequences of racism.

The school district partnered with the National Coalition of 100 Black Women to create the two-day experience and also is working with East Valley NAACP, race expert Neal Lester and others.

Other Tempe district schools are not having assemblies but administrators are seeking money and time to host sessions in the future, said Jill Hanks, the district's executive director of community relations.

"Schools didn’t create the issues. Schools are here to help support our students as they struggle with life situations," said Battle, the former Desert Vista principal and current assistant superintendent for district operations.

Leaders from all district schools will attend training in June, she said, and the district works to partner with its feeder schools to create training, events and possible changes to curriculum that may span years.

"This is a long-term commitment. This is not a one-stop shop, 'check off we’re done with that,' because that never works. We’re about educating other people’s children to change lives for the future," she said.

Living through the fallout

In some ways, life has moved on for the teens.

Three of them have posted about being accepted to large universities both in and out of the state.

On Twitter they post senior portraits, statuses calling each other best friends and photos of them traveling together. Two of the girls traveled to Mexico together for spring break – despite not actually having one, according to their accounts.

As for missing prom, they found a way to soften the loss. They posted signs from "promposals" and beautiful photos in which they're done up in gowns and laughing with friends before a formal dinner.