“A Redlands high school principal made a bizarre comment during a graduation ceremony about a controversial incident last year involving cheerleaders dressing up as latino “gangstas.” He gave them kudos for their “strength and courage” for some reason.
Redlands East Valley High School principal John Maloney seemed to praise the school’s cheerleaders for an incident last year that many criticized for being offensive and racist, according to Redlands Daily Facts. During last week’s graduation ceremony, Maloney told the crowd: “These are high school kids. We don’t care about what is happening in Congress but we care about a of couple cheerleaders dressing up. I admire those girls for their strength and courage.”
Last year, as part of a “Gangsta Day” team-building exercise that was somehow approved by the team’s advisers, 13 cheerleaders wore elaborate costumes with baggy pants, plaid shirts, and heavy eye makeup. In photos that surfaced over social media last summer, the students were seen throwing gang signs with their outfits and posing with fake weapons. Some put basketballs under their shirts so they could pretend that they were pregnant. Yes, really.” *
Cenk Uygur (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/AnaKasparian) discuss on The Young Turks. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
*Read more here http://laist.com/2015/06/15/redlands_east_valley_high_school.php
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Comments
As a high school teacher, I have a real problem with the principal’s attitude about this issue. For one thing, the cheer advisor should have put a stop to this. But I guess it is not surprising that the advisor did nothing, given the fact that the principal is praising the cheer team for their actions. There are many other activities out there for teams to build spirit, togetherness, etc. I just think that the adults in this situation should have known better from the beginning and the principal’s remarks just makes everything worse. Now the kids are going to believe that it is okay to do things like this because the administration is okay with it.