TURNER — Leavitt Area High School let a student attend classes in a Santa suit Thursday, but administrators drew the line at his fake beard.
The student showed up for school in full Santa regalia on the last full day of classes before winter vacation. Superintendent Henry Aliberti Jr. said administrators allowed the boy to stay in costume but required him to remove the beard and mustache because they concealed his face and made him unrecognizable.
“Certainly, given the times that we’re in, we don’t allow kids to wear ski masks or Halloween-type masks or the Lone Ranger masks into school,” Aliberti said.
The situation — and rumors about it — caused a stir at the school. By lunch, students were posting comments on Twitter.
“(W)hy can’t there be a santa omg leavitt overreacts wAAAAY to much,” one student wrote.
Some thought the boy had been told to remove his full suit and they called that unfair. Others thought classmates were making too much of the incident.
“Leavitt people are being soo immature today about a dumb Santa suit,” another student wrote.
Aliberti said students can be prohibited from wearing items that disrupt learning. The Santa suit could have fallen into that category, but administrators opted to let the boy keep it on.
“Actually, I felt the principal was kind of generous in doing that,” Aliberti said.
He said the boy removed the beard when asked.
I love the reasoning behind why he couldn’t wear the beard and mustache, “because he would be unrecognizable”. I have a strange feeling that everyone in the school would know who was wearing a full Santa outfit (whether or not he put on a beard and mustache). Did they think that the mustache and beard had some magical camouflage or cloaking powers? If anything, the mustache and beard would make him more recognizable, as in “oh my word did you see Jimmy in that full Santa outfit, that’s crazy he had the guts to wear it to school”. Did this administrator even think before making this comment. What a bunch of b.s.
I can’t believe that our schools have gotten so uptight that a boy wanting to celebrate the holidays and have some fun is not allowed to do so. This is a sad commentary on our current society. This brings up some funny feelings inside that make me think we are becoming very close to a police state where every little aspect of our lives is governed and controlled.
That’s the main purpose of terrorism, that and bankruptcy. I’d say it worked.
“meanwhile on the western front America enters it’s 12th year battling the cave dwellers” stay tune for a word from our sponsor.
This is policy in many schools in Maine. Children in my school are not allowed to wear a Halloween mask in school either. If you let one do it, then you have to let them all do it. They do this for good reasons. I don’t understand why this is news because it is policy in schools now – safety reasons.
Then let them all do it It’s one day a year
Safety issues is the concern in schools with face covering.
Your defense of this authoritarianism is most insulting to those you that think you are defending.
Never mind the fact that to you his wearing a red suit with white faux fur trim, is not, in and of itself, good enough identification, when he does what, exactly, but what sort of people do you think would not be able to see though a Santa suit, and identify one their own student body ?
Given how little you think education professionals are capable of doing you do not make a very good advocate for them.
I’m sorry to say it, but your defense of this authoritarian stupidity
is no better than it.
Happy holidays.
” I have a strange feeling that everyone in the school would know who was wearing a full Santa outfit …”
Exactly what I was thinking.
The thing is that authoritarian stupidity always get a pass.
Calling foolish authoritarianism just that is a good start to solving many of those things that both the right and left decry as ruining America, but it is not done enough.
It sounds like the school has a rule against face wear that conceals the face. They asked the boy to remove the beard and he did. What’s the problem here? Rules are rules. I know that as an adult I have plenty of rules I must abide by daily in my job and life, some of which I like, some not so much. It’s part of life. There’s nothing wrong with this generation following rules. We did!
i agree. there is no point in having rules if they are not enforced. this is a good life lesson to the children.
Ya the same with driving rules they are broken all the time but nothing is done about that
So to anyone but an authoritarian, is it any less valid to say no rule is so perfect that it is wise to always enforce it …… even at the cost of “defacing” a common cultural icon ?
exceptions can always be made by those in positions of authority, but to say that the exception should be the rule, well, quickly descends into chaos. the sad fact of the matter is is that if the kid had the foresight to simply asked permission beforehand, he probably would have been allowed to wear the entire costume. that last bit is, of course, conjecture, however.
I don’t know if I’d go that far. I’ve learned in my short 26 years on this planet, that it’s almost always easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission. I think it turned out perfectly. I can see them not wanting him to wear the facial hair but they let him keep the rest of the costume on. They could have sent him home to change. Sounds like compromise to me.
“it’s almost always easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”
i’ve always disliked that expression. i mean no offense when i say this, but it always struck me as an extremely self-centered attitude. just because something is easier, doesn’t make it right, often quite the opposite. the rest i agree with, i really think this whole thing was a bit of a non-story. can you really imagine the kid leaving a hot scratchy fake beard on all day anyway?
No offense taken and I can see where you are coming from, but this is almost the perfect time for that expression. I believe that had he asked for permission yesterday, they probably would have said “no” as to not cause a distraction to the other students. He decided to just wear it and the administrators apparently figured that it would have been even more of a distraction to send him home or make a huge deal out of it. And I agree, it is a bit of a non-story. Have a nice day! :-)
we’ll probably never know, times are very different then when i was in school. have a nice day as well.
I agree and I like this story for a few reasons:
A student dressed as Santa – (no matter how old we are the image of Santa evokes pleasant emotions for many) – and probably made a few people chuckle and feel pretty good. The school allowed him to keep the Santa suit on – very cool, imo. The school asked that he remove the beard and it appears he did so without a fuss – VERY COOL.
Not trying to be at all negative but why is this even in the news paper?
A Santa without a beard is akin to Jesus with short hair !
Both not kosher..
Just another “brick in the wall.”
“teacher leave them kids alone”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU-U
Because it has generated how many hundreds of page hits so far? Follow the money.
Slow news day, Foxglove .. that, and they ran out of bloggers to run, which can only be a good thing! BDN — the newspaper for the Self-Absorbed!
The point is:
There are too many f**king rules at all levels of society now.
Unless it has to do with sex or drugs and then anything goes.
The best thing we teach students is a healthy disrespect for authority….That way we don’t let the “rule makers” invade other countries illegally for one thing…Rules are rules….What nonsense…Do any teachers in Leavitt have beards??
But, but, but Reverend, he was honoring the real authority in our society.
What means consumerism anymore than Santa Clause ?
“That way we don’t let the ‘rule makers’ invade other countries illegally for one thing.”
Hold on, remind me when in the last 50 or so years the American people didn’t let that happen.
All citizens must conform to safety guidelines.
Holiday fun is no excuse to compromise safety.
I’m amazed in this day of political correctness that he was allowed to wear the Santa suit as it relates to Christmas.
Maybe they are trying to be inclusive because Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman “The Blind Sheikh” also wears the Santa hat but he has a beard and mustache. Double standard?
That is the most surprising to me. I figured they would have sent him home or made him take it off because it may have offended someone.
Rules are rules, but it is sad that we as a society have lost the ability to apply common sense to the different situations to which they may be applicable.
Schools and government. 2 places where common sense no longer exists.
Well, they do say that people do get the government that they deserve.
Just look at the Congressmen elected in 2010, and all they have accomplished as proof of the point.
: )
I’m afraid sense of any kind is no longer common.
He’s the only kid in school with a full Santa suit and if he wears the beard and mustache no one will know who he is. Really? How many teachers have beards?
And we wonder why this country is spiraling down the toilet.
First ‘claus’ is removed. Now the beard. Whats next, his wide belt looks like a weapon? Sounds like santa CLAUS is doing a striptease in the school.
He must of scared the Teachers, because Samta sometimes scares little kids
How sad that we live in times that make even Santa scary.
The message it sends, uh !? Imagine what the generations will be like in 20, 30 years. Sad state of affairs.
This is a good example of how far down hill this country has gone …………….. and it is sad to see how terrorist and terrorism have made the AMERICAN PUBLIC so paranoid.
Now I understand the schools policies, especially in these times and I think they handled it very well.
I take it you didn’t get the memo.. Obama does not like the use of the word terroist or terrorism.. Benghazi=protesters.. Remember, or maybe your not paying attention
Here we go.. (all in good fun)
Fek off pushtheredbutton; tired of the diatribe.
LOL!!, Thats is down right mean..
“(W)hy can’t there be a santa omg leavitt overreacts wAAAAY to much,” one student wrote.
omg leavitt needz 2 teach there students how too spelllllll
/facepalm
Looks lke you need to take spelling lessons too
Aliberti said students can be prohibited from wearing items that disrupt learning. LOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLL What a crock.
Meanwhile there are ‘teacher workshop’ days throughout a school year…
“Certainly, given the times that we’re in, we don’t allow kids to wear
ski masks or Halloween-type masks or the Lone Ranger masks into school,”
Aliberti said.’
lone ranger? thats like old news
LOL I just read this and had commented on the same thing. Seriously, what teenager today knows who the heck that is???
Though I am all for school security, this is rediculous. They have about 650 students total, which I would think, would make for the majority of the staff and students familiar to everyone. It’s Christmas…sigh…
On a side note, the Lone Ranger? Really? This is 2012. No high school kid knows who that is.
I wouldn’t be so sure. I saw a trailer for a new Lone Ranger movie before Lincoln a couple weeks ago.
OMG. Wait until these kids work in corporate America!