Wellesley High School in Massachusetts canceled its Spirit Week “USA Day,” expressing a desire to “avoid politics.”
Each day of Spirit Week sees students dressed according to a theme.
The patriotic theme was canceled after the administration claimed it “separated people at the school,” according to Olivia Spagnuolo of the Student Unification Program.
In a letter to parents and students, the high school said, “The high school Administration decided not to go forward with that spirit theme because it felt really different than the other themes kids came up with for the week. We felt that the topic has been politicized beyond our school and we wanted to avoid politics. We’ve had Mismatch Monday, Tropical Tuesday, Western Wednesday, Team Jersey Thursday and today was Fitness Friday. Monday is Monochrome Monday and Tuesday is Pajama day. Spirit Week is intended to be a light and fun way for our students to get excited about our pep rally and Thanksgiving Day football game.”
“We acknowledge that the impact for some people has been just the opposite of our intention and that we have inadvertently politicized this activity. I am definitely sorry for any negative effect this has had on kids and families,” the letter added.
One parent called the decision “absurd.”
“I think it’s absurd,” the parent said. “I think it’s sad and depressing we’re at this state that celebrating the United States is political.”
Although Friday’s theme became “Fitness Friday,” many students chose to wear red, white, and blue.
