Principal Mark Rowicki greeted his students at Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton, Va., on Monday dressed as Donald Trump, a get-up that included a Trump campaign button pinned to his lapel and a “Make America Great Again” hat.
The school secretary also got in the spirit that day, donning a short blond wig, a chain belt and an orange jumpsuit — not unlike one worn by prisoners — with a “Hillary R. Clinton” name tag.
Their Halloween costumes have spurred criticism from some parents and school leaders. Some have accused the pair of pushing a political agenda on impressionable teenagers and bringing the ugliness generated by the presidential campaign into the school building.
Neither Rowicki nor the secretary, Stephanie Corbett, could be reached for comment Wednesday. Pictures of the pair in their costumes had appeared in a photo gallery on the school’s home page but were later taken down at the superintendent’s direction. The News Leader newspaper in Staunton first reported the story.
It is the latest example of the deeply polarizing presidential campaign cycle pushing its way into schools. Some teachers have avoided talking about the election altogether because it rouses too much anxiety and conflict among their students. Across the country, some students have repurposed campaign rhetoric to bully their classmates, targeting minority and immigrant students in particular.
Totally unacceptable. Schools should be as free as possible from electioneering. I question the wisdom of even having both candidates represented, given the contentiousness of this election cycle. However, to have a school official as Hillary in jail garb? I can’t stress the bad taste and poor judgement enough. The mistake was Hillary in orange.
Both secretary and principal should be fired. This lapse in judgement goes beyond the pale. Unless the secretary was forced under duress to dress as “jail bird Hillary”, she needs to go also. The principal must assume full responsibility.
I expect the community will call for both heads on a platter.
Apparently, I am not the only one.
I’m torn, Moon. I can see how any representation could be contentious, but I fear we are raising a generation whose response to stress is to shut-down and clamor for sensitivity (look at our college campuses… the free speech generation should be appalled). Part of what a school should do is prepare kids for the real world, and in the real world there are disagreements, debates, etc, as well as public figures who embody those. Rather than running from those and other hard conversations, we need to give our children tools to handle them. I would add, this article calls out minority and immigrant students as being targeted by reused rhetoric, but I know from having school-age children it goes the other way, too. I don’t think the answer is to silence or neuter conversations (bullying or harassment cross a line, of course).
That said, you are 100% correct that Hillary in orange is bad taste, poor judgment, a mistake. It’s almost a head-scratching moment: “Ok, some people might think this is funny. But wearing this IN SCHOOL – not just posting on social media – was deemed appropriate?” The key would be handling it as a professional/personnel rather than as a political matter. A person dressing up as a politician in jail garb is their affair. Bringing that into a professional, educational environment with minors is not.
I actually don’t disagree with you. If someone represented each candidate respectfully, in a school setting, that is actually a learning experience. I say respectfully, because I was thinking of SNL skits. No, not in school.
When I was in the classroom, I had a co-teacher in one class who simply would not stop giving his political opinion. I didn’t disagree with that political opinion. However, it was inappropriate in the classroom and bordered on bullying the students. (saying if their parents voted for one of the candidates, they were stupid…etc) I had to get real tough with him and put a stop to mentioning politics in the classroom, right before an election.
I wouldn’t have anything negative to say if Hillary and Donald had both been represented fairly and accurately, although given the deportation threats, I can see where it might scare little kids. Older kids…like you said.
@MoonHowler
One of my best HS teachers was a very liberal Lutheran historian. He made an issue of politics once, and only in a side conversation, saying in frustration “We have the power to alleviate death from hunger here and avoid causing death by war elsewhere, but we chose otherwise.” Another – also ideologically left-leaning – would give argument when pushed on a particular president by students but it was organic and not persistent. In both cases (US and European history, and in advanced Spanish class) the discussion of politics and ideology was unavoidable – to avoid it would require truncating conversation and opportunities to learn.
Norms also play a part, and that makes it hard. For example, a pair of students both coming as candidates in satire (jailed Hillary, Donald as a human wall or… whatever… the mind shudders at the possibilities) might work in some places. With teachers who have authority and judgment in their hands, there’s a different expectation of detachment.
I do think we need to abandon the idea that even young kids aren’t exposed to what’s going on. Kids hear things, and pick up a lot more than they verbalize.
Yes, they do. On the other hand, Trump has become the symbol of deportation. That causes fear with a whole lot of Latino kids and maybe others. Of course, if he wins, then the fear could become a reality.
This is a part of Virginia where teaching Arabic is controversial. I guess those kids won’t have many opportunities to translate for the military.
Fire them other!
You have to wonder how people get to adulthood, and even obtain positions of responsibility, and yet have no judgment.
No kidding. I was shocked.
Then there was the PE teacher or coach, I forget which, who pulled out a starter pistol and pretended to “shoot” a student for not dressing out during a 5th grade orientation.
No judgement whatsoever.
What were they thinking!!!!!