Contrary to a viral video circulating on the internet, a Michigan school district superintendent has denied that they placed litter boxes for the "furries" or students who identify as cats in the school bathrooms.
Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow was prompted to send emails to the parents of the students attending Midland Public Schools to assure them that the viral video presented a false accusation, especially after an official from the state's Republican Party re-shared the video on Facebook.
According to USA Today, Meshawn Maddock's re-sharing elicited a strong response from the Michigan community, further blowing up the rumor of the cat litter boxes for the furries in the school bathroom. Some commenters demanded an investigation into the Michigan school, but Sharrow clarified that this matter was already brought up, pacified, and closed during a school board meeting in December 2021.
The superintendent added that while he felt it was "unconscionable" to address the baseless accusation publicly, he needed to clarify and make a public statement because the issue got out of hand on the internet in late January 2022.
What are "Furries," and Why Did the Video Became Viral?
According to Fur Science, "furries" refer to a community of people who like roleplaying as anthropomorphized animal characters. They use their "fursona" in online communities like Second Life.
Furries belong to a global trend that holds dozens of conventions where members dress up like their furry alter egos online. More than 75 percent of furries are young adults who are part of the LGBTQ community.
During the Michigan school board meeting in December, mom Lisa Hansen spoke up and said that one of the students told her there were litter boxes for the furries in their school to complement the unisex bathrooms installed for the rest of the students. Hansen said that she was so upset as a parent to learn that the school was promoting such an environment. She also claimed that there seemed to be an agenda perpetuated in Michigan's education system.
Hansen's statement became the content of the viral video, which trended more than a month after the school board meeting. In the mother's email to the New York Times, Hansen claimed that she was simply a concerned parent who was not aware of what was happening in her children's school. However, she could not provide any evidence of the litter boxes claim.
But the superintendent said there were never any litter boxes placed at the school bathrooms for students who identify as cats. Sharrow also noted that the emphasis across the public schools is to educate the kids with "excellence, integrity, and respect."
Some Netizens are Aware It's Fake
Meanwhile, some netizens who came across the viral video said that they never believed the wild rumor that there are litter boxes for the furries in the Michigan school. One netizen said it was not hard to figure out that the claims were absurd.
Another netizen said that no school board would bother spending money for litter boxes for a small number of the students who identify as cats. The person also said that school janitors would never scoop human wastes out of a litter box, so the claims in the viral video were fake from the start.
