THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Woodlands High School Principal, Gregg Colschen, has concluded his investigation into the matter with which a Catholic Highlanders Club poster was defaced at the school earlier in the week, and a student (Jake Shanley) was falsely accused.



Jake is a member of the Catholic Highlanders Club and he advertises for the club with administration approval. The guilty party took one of Jake's flyers and at the bottom, added in derogatory comments.



Jake's name was added below the erroneous message, and it was all done on a computer so it was difficult to detect who exactly made the comment.



Colschen has indicated that the TWHS student, Jake Shanley, was wrongly blamed, and that the student who did write the comments has acknowledged doing so. The following is the statment issued by The Woodlands High School Principal, Gregg Colschen:



Dear Parents, Earlier this week a poster advertising a meeting for an extracurricular club was defaced by a student. The derogatory comments written on the poster were falsely attributed to the president of the club whose meeting was being advertised. This incident, which violates our campus respect policy, has created a disruption at school. It has brought embarrassment and undeserved ire directed toward the student wrongly blamed for writing the offensive comments. The student who did write the comments has acknowledged doing so. That student’s conduct is being addressed in accordance with the District’s Student Code of Conduct.



Our students are some of the finest young men and women in the country. They are respectful, tolerant and kind. While incidents such as this bring unflattering attention to our school, it is by no means a reflection of our outstanding student body. I wanted to make you aware of what happened so that you too can remind your child of the unintended consequences thoughtless and hurtful acts can have and the importance of being respectful to all people.



Sincerely, Gregg Colschen



Principal Colschen and his administration at TWHS conducted an investigation to find the truth so no further damage could be done to Jake Shanley's reputation, however, it doesn't end there. There is the matter of clearing Jake's name. Before the truth was known, the false information went viral and friends and family here, as well as nationwide, got wind of the information. This has created negative publicity and the Shanley's have been doing damage control in an attempt to put the correct information out there.



The following message was put together by Jake Shanley to limit any further confusion people may have about the situation:



"A student at The Woodlands High School created a flyer claiming to advertise a meeting of the Catholic Highlanders, an organization with which I am very involved, and intentionally created the appearance that I was the author of this flyer. The flyer contained hateful and discriminatory content, making statements I do not believe and would never state. This flyer was widely distributed to the Woodlands High School student body and then went “viral” on the Internet. The flyer has caused many people, most of whom have never met me, to believe that I hold a set of beliefs and values that I not only do not hold, but, instead, strongly condemn. Since this flyer went viral, I have received a steady stream of hateful and hurtful attention and condemnation. I have learned the real creator of this flyer has been identified and has confessed. The school is taking action. I want anyone who saw this flyer to know that I was not the creator of this document and it does not reflect my beliefs. Mostly, though, I just want all of the harassment that I am receiving to end. This was not me and it is not who I am."



Jake Shanley has been involved in many volunteer and extracurricular activities. Shanley has many academic, music, and artistic achievements, awards and certificates. In addition to his leadership, as well as his work experience, he is also a member of the The Woodlands High School marching band.



