What is in a costume?

            One of the great traditions on this campus has always been the LS Halloween parade. It is a joyful moment where we celebrate what it means to be one school with three divisions while acknowledging some of the remarkable rituals of childhood. As educators, we have also always known that Halloween can be filled with landmines: too much candy, costumes that are too scary, and fake weapons have all been concerns of the Administration over the years. While there has always been worry about “inappropriate” costumes more generally, our Director of Cultural Competency, Michael Buensuceso, did a nice job this year in each division asking our kids to think twice before choosing a costume. He encouraged them to be thoughtful and consider options that don’t build upon or perpetuate problematic stereotypes of various cultures.  While clearly a needed reminder for all of us, I am quite sure that we had students (and parents) who thought we might be making this into a “bigger deal” than it needed to be.

            Suddenly this conversation has dominated the national higher education headlines as it relates to tensions that have exploded at Yale University. A group of administrators recently sent an email to the student body asking for a similar kind of thoughtfulness around Halloween costume choices. One particular Yale professor responded with a controversial email that suggested the administration was trying to control student behavior in an inappropriate way – essentially turning it into a free speech discussion. The student reaction to this has been remarkable, including shocking videos of college students publically asking professors to step down from their positions. Simultaneously, we watched as the President of the University of Missouri stepped down as a result of student unhappiness regarding the responsiveness to various issues related to race relations. As consumers of media, I am smart enough to know there is a great deal of information we do not know about these situations, but we do know that the stories are the result of a number of experiences over time – not simply an isolated email about a Halloween costume.

            What can we learn about this as parents and educators with children in school in South Berwick? Regardless of where you might personally come out on a conversation about free speech, cultural awareness, and/or Halloween – we know that our children need to be ready to be a part of this kind of discourse. As their worlds become more diverse beyond this Hilltop, the conversations become more complicated, nuanced, and complex. We can’t simply hope that our kids will feel comfortable leaning into these conversations by osmosis or mere virtue that they met the admissions standard of a particular college. We need to develop graduates who can articulate their viewpoint, whatever it might be, in a thoughtful, informed, manner – buoyed by a sense of empathy and understanding of people who are different than themselves. While I am quite sure we will make some mistakes and perhaps make some people uncomfortable along this journey, these recent headlines remind us that we have an obligation to prepare our graduates for the world they will enter beyond the boundaries of Berwick Academy.