Upstate New York school sparks fury by calling photo of students with dirty snowman 'diverse'

An upstate New York school landed itself in hot water after posting a picture of students proudly posing alongside a muddy snowman and declaring the creation to be as diverse as the school's students.

The Coxsackie-Athens Central School District posted the image to social media on Tuesday but quickly took it down as baffled and outraged responses began to pile up.

As grabs of the post made the rounds online, the school posted an apology on its website and said their use of the word 'diverse' in the post had nothing to do with the snowman's mixed color, but instead was meant to celebrate how each student can make snowmen their own way.

Nonetheless, the post has continued to circulate online, with many people saying they intend to keep reposting it to hold the school accountable.

The Coxsackie-Athens Central School District posted the image to social media on Tuesday, but quickly took it down as baffled and outraged responses began to pile up

The photo showed three boys standing with their arms behind their backs around a lumpy and dirty snowman which was apparently hewn from the remains of a meager snowfall.

'Today's CE Fourth Grade Playground Fun,' the school district wrote in the Facebook post. 'This snowman is just as diverse as our students!'

Responses were swift, with one user kicking things off with the question, 'What in tarnation is that supposed to mean?'

Others joined in and demanded the school district explain what they meant. 

'I would like for Coxsackie-Athens Central School Districts to explain the meaning of this post?' one wrote.

The Coxsackie-Athens Central School District's explanation of the post's intended meaning

After pulling the post down, the school issued a statement on its website apologizing and explaining that their use of the word diverse was not intended to speak to the color of the snowman or its students' skin.

'The word 'diverse' was used to describe how every kid can make a snowman differently and this variety of creativity should be celebrated,' the school explained.

'When it was commented that this post could be interpreted about race the post was taken down. We want to apologize and reiterate it was never intended to be hurtful.'

'Families of the students in the picture have already been contacted personally. We will use this as an opportunity to review our social media policies and procedures and continue our commitment to providing a learning environment where every person feels that they belong,' it continued.

Despite the explanation, many online were not ready to let the school off the hook.

'I'm going to leave this here since Coxsackie-Athens Central School District decided to delete this post after getting some backlash,' one Facebook user wrote.  

'I'm going to leave this here since Coxsackie-Athens Central School District decided to delete this post after getting some backlash. It’s giving Sullivan west vibes & I will not let that slip,' said another.

'This is where language and white privilege collide… smh, i’m sure it was said with innocent intentions from someone who lacks education on diversity, lacks socially acceptable humor and clearly needs a reality check,' commented a third.