What seems to be a traditional High School prank has caused outrage from the community as a bonfire was held by Van High School students at during their homecoming on Thursday (September 27th) seemed racist towards another player.

According to CBS 19, a video was posted on Van ISD Facebook page where the students had a figure tied up to a stake and was set on fire with the students yelling “Light him up!”

The figure depicted was the star quarterback of the rival school Brownsboro who just so happens to be African American.

Social media was buzzing over the incident claiming the prank was racist and even had a family member of the player was hanging in the locker room.

Van ISD immediately responded by releasing a statement:

The Vandal Bonfire is a long-standing tradition in Van ISD that dates back to the 1940s. When this tradition began, our bonfire was constructed by senior students; however, after an incident in the mid-2000s when a student broke his wrist during construction, the district decided to halt the tradition. In 2017, the bonfire tradition was reinstated with the construction process handled by Van ISD staff rather than students for safety reasons.

The video has been deleted from the Facebook page and extra security was on hand at the game.

Personally, I don’t think the prank was racist, but I can understand the outrage and the bonfire will be discontinued moving forward per Van ISD.

Next time just steal the other team mascot!

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