Pennsylvania

Suburban Philadelphia Students Hurl Rocks, Racial Slurs at Rival School

Some Quakertown fans threw rocks and yelled racial slurs at a Cheltenham High School bus during the Friday night Quakertown homecoming game.

The superintendent of a Pennsylvania school district says two middle school students will face punishment after a racially motivated incident during a football game.

Quakertown Community School District superintendent Dr. William Harner confirmed on Monday that some Quakertown fans threw rocks and yelled racial slurs at a Cheltenham High School bus during the Friday night Quakertown homecoming game. More than 50 percent of the student population at Cheltenham High is black.

Harner says two eighth-grade boys have been suspended after interviewing about a 12 middle school students.

Cheltenham School District superintend Dr. Wagner Marseille says cheerleaders and members of the band were insulted with "the most divisive racial terms you can use."

Harner, who is a Cheltenham High School graduate, says the incident is "incredibly upsetting." He says the students embarrassed both the school board and community.

On Tuesday, before a soccer game between both high schools, players on both sides stood together during the national anthem in a show of unity. A group called "Quakertown Community Outreach" also held signs apologizing to Cheltenham students.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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