WHITNEY YOUNG PARENTS PLAN SHOW OF ‘SOLIDARITY’

Parents of students plan a show of “solidarity” outside Whitney Young Magnet High School Wednesday after another threat was found carved into a girl’s bathroom stall at the school.

The threat was reported to administrators about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday by three students, according to school Principal Joyce Kenner.

The Near West Side school was already on high alert, with 10 additional Chicago police officers roaming the halls for extra security after a similar threat was found Friday. The original threat etched into a bathroom stall had the message, “You will all pay 12/5.” The new message was similar, said Kenner. The principal said in an interview that she wasn’t surprised that another threat was found and has suspicions that the second threat was made as a joke.

“We don’t know if its a copycat situation or somebody just lashing out . . . some students may take this opportunity and find it to be funny,” said Kenner.

“This is not funny. People’s lives are at risks,” she said.

A mother of a sophomore at Whitney Young, who asked that her name not be used, said her daughter and several of her friends left school early Tuesday after the new threat was announced over a loudspeaker by Kenner.

The mother and other students said the metal detectors did not appear to be working and only random students were chosen to be wanded and searched more closely.

“My daughter said the metal detectors weren’t even on,” said the mother. “. . . It’s very frustrating that they’re not doing [enough] and our children are deciding what makes them feel safe.”

Kenner did not immediately respond to the woman’s claims.

The Friends of Whitney Young group issued a statement Tuesday inviting parents and guardians to stand together outside the school at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at the corner of Laflin Street and Jackson Boulevard “in a sign of solidarity for our own children, and for every child and family touched by fear and hate,” an email said.