A Michigan school district is denying that litter boxes are provided to students who identify as ‘furries’ after a woman made the claim in a school board meeting last month.
Video of the woman, Lisa Hansen, has since gone viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views on conservative social media pages and even being shared by a state Republican Party official.
‘So yesterday, I heard that a least one of our schools has – in one of the unisex bathrooms – a litter box for the kids that identify as cats, and I am really disturbed by that. And I will do some more investigation on that,’ she told the the Midland Public Schools Board of Education during a meeting on December 20.
On Thursday, Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow said it was ‘unconscionable’ that he had to address the issue in an email to parents that was also posted on Facebook.
‘Let me be clear in this communication. There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools,’ Sharrow said.
A Michigan school district is denying that it provided litter boxes to student who identify as ‘furries’ after Lisa Hansen, above, said they did at a school board meeting last month
Midland Public Schools said ‘there is no truth whatsoever’ to the accusations in an email sent to parents and posted on Facebook on Thursday
People who are furries ‘create for themselves an anthropomorphized animal character (fursona) with whom they identify,’ according to scientists who study them
Hansen said she heard that a school kept a litter box, above, in a unisex bathroom to appease a student’s identity
Hansen appeared overwhelmed with confusion as she addressed officials at the school district, about an hour northwest of Flint, last month.
‘I’m still wrapping my brain around this a little bit. Yesterday I heard something and I was stunned, and today I am equally stunned and a little bit upset. Furious – I would even use that word,’ she said.
‘I want to talk about the fact that – and I know that this is going on nationwide, so it’s not just for this board – but the community needs to understand that the agenda that is being pushed through our schools is – just my opinion – but somewhat nefarious when it comes to some of the activities.
‘Let’s talk about furries. It was addressed by a child a couple months ago that they’re put in an environment where there are kids that identify as a fury – a cat or a dog or whatever.
‘So yesterday, I heard that a least one of our schools has in one of the unisex bathrooms a letterbox for the kids that identify as cats. And I am really disturbed by that. And I will do some more investigation on that.’
The Midland Public Schools Board of Education did not reply to her comments
Hansen’s comments were spread on social media by conservative pages and Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock
Most people who identify as furries ‘create for themselves an anthropomorphized animal character (fursona) with whom they identify and can function as an avatar within the community,’ according to FurScience, a website run by a team of scientists studying the furry fandom.
‘Some furries wear elaborate costumes or paraphernalia such as animal ears or tails, or represent themselves as anthropomorphic animals in online communities such as Second Life.’
More than 75 percent of furries are under the age of 25, about 84 percent of them are male and 83.2 percent of them are white, according to the website.
Maddock did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com
‘Contrasting stereotypes that portray the fandom as being simply a fetish, the most-cited draw to the furry fandom is its sense of belongingness, recreation, and escape from the mundaneness of daily life, as well as its appreciation of anthropomorphic art and stories,’ the website states.
School board officials did not respond to Hansen’s comments, which drew claps from some members of the audience.
It is unclear if she is a parent at the school.
Video of the meeting began spreading on social media this month.
On the Twitter page Libs of TikTok, Hansen’s comments have been watched 607,000 times and have garnered 9,373 likes.
Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock reposted the video on Thursday, writing: ‘Kids who identify as “furries” get a litter box in the school bathroom. Parent heroes will TAKE BACK our schools.’
Midlands Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow said: ‘There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools’
At a conservative gathering last week, Maddock said she was one of 16 Republicans who signed a document to give Donald Trump all of Michigan’s 16 Electoral College votes, even though President Joe Biden won the state by 150,000 votes.
‘We fought to seat the electors,’ she said, referring to herself and her husband, state Representative Matt Maddock, according to CBS News.
‘The Trump campaign asked us to do that. I’m under a lot of scrutiny for that today.’
Maddock did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
In his message to parents, Superintendent Sharrow acknowledged that the ‘false message/accusation’ was ‘gaining traction in the social media realm.’
He denied Hansen’s claims completely.
‘It is such a source of disappointment that I felt the necessity to communicate this message to you.
In this divisive/contentious world in which we currently find ourselves, I ask that if you hear wild accusations that don’t sound like something in which your Midland Public Schools Board of Education, Administration, District would be part, take a moment to send an MPSConnect message to me.’
