Woke teachers at $66K-a-year NYC private school up in arms over student’s ‘border patrol’ prank

Teachers at a ritzy New York City private school were outraged after seniors pulled a class prank that featured a fake ‘border patrol checkpoint.’

Students at the all-boys Collegiate School – which costs a whopping $65,900 per year – put on the controversial display Thursday as part of the long-standing senior prank tradition, Gothamist reported.

The school claims to be the oldest in the country with a founding date of 1628 and boosts famous alumni John F. Kennedy Jr., his nephew Jack Schlossberg, David Duchovny, rapper Lil Mabu and many socialites such as Cornelius Vanderbilt II. 

The class of 2025 set up a cardboard booth surrounded by caution tape where they asked to see arriving classmates’ ‘papers.’

An inflatable eagle riding a motorcycle was set up in the lobby, American and Texas flags were hung at the entrance, and a live mariachi band performed outside.

Teachers sent a complaint to school leadership about the prank claiming the event reeked of ‘racism and harassment of people of color,’ according to the news outlet.

Head of school Bodie Brizendine sent a letter to the community Friday stating the prank had been approved with a Fourth of July theme, but ‘it unfortunately strayed from that plan.’ 

‘We have an excellent senior class and yesterday’s events do not reflect who we are as a school,’ she said. ‘We regret that this “prank” took the turn that it did. Every member of our community is valued and important to us.’

Students at the elite Collegiate School (pictured) set up a ‘border patrol checkpoint’ for their senior prank

The teacher complaint called for the students to be held accountable for their actions. Brizendine said she is investigating the matter.

Brizendine took over last year when her predecessor was forced to resign after branding an anti-Semitism taskforce a ‘power play by Jewish families.’

The board of trustees at the private school launched a probe after more than 100 Jewish parents said its response to the October 7 Hamas attack failed to ‘meet the moment.’

Head of school David Lourie allegedly described the move as ‘nothing more than a ‘power play by Jewish families and New York City Rabbis’ to have him ousted.

Task force head Anna Carello found that one English teacher had accused Israel of genocide in front to 6th and 7th graders shortly after the terrorist attacks, while two others had harangued a Holocaust survivor invited to speak at the school.

‘I feel like Collegiate has become a training camp for Columbia,’ one parent at the $63,400 a year K-12 school told the New York Post.

The allegations came to light after Carello sued Lourie for gender discrimination claiming he undermined and sidelined her investigation as ‘punishment’ for her working with Jewish families.

Her report found that some staff blamed ‘wealthy and influential’ Jewish parents for tensions at the all-boys school which had ‘skirted close to one of the oldest and most pervasive anti-Semitic tropes.’

Head of school Bodie Brizendine (pictured) sent a letter to the community stating the prank had been approved with a Fourth of July theme, but ‘it unfortunately strayed from that plan’

In 2020, the school ditched its ‘offensive’ mascot, thought to be a caricature of Peter Stuyvesant, and replaced with a silhouette 

It revealed that Middle School English teacher Dwayne Alexis had been ‘relieved of his teaching duties after presenting controversial lessons on the Middle East to his 7th-grade civics class and 6th-grade world history class’, with some parents claiming he had accused Israel of genocide.

It also revealed that two upper-school teachers had been ‘reprimanded’ after asking ‘pressing questions’ at a school Holocaust Assembly.

‘There was a Holocaust survivor invited to speak at the school and a teacher took it upon herself to press him on a series of questions, one of which was could ‘the swastika be a symbol of peace?’ one parent claimed.

‘People have lost confidence, there is no morality clarity, there is a pervasive anger and it is all driven by an erosion of trust,’ another added.

Carello claimed her investigation was hampered by having to teach the classes of Alexis after he was suspended.

And concerned parents were not reassured when her report came in at nine pages, compared to the 400 pages of the school’s 2020 response to ‘institutional and other racism that pervades so much of our society’.

Five years ago an internal task force recommended its mascot, motto and seal be changed because they could be considered offensive. 

The school ditched its ‘offensive’ mascot, thought to be a caricature of Peter Stuyvesant, and replaced with a silhouette 

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk