by Kristie Hoang and Katrya Ly, News Editors
A recent announcement stating that students cannot dress up as the opposite gender for Halloween sparked heated discussions and questions among the student body.
“I don’t think it’s really that bad, if a guy dresses up like a girl, unless it’s making fun of girls; like [by] mostly wearing like short shorts and like crop tops,” said Cathlynn Tran (’18).
The statement was released yesterday through the morning announcements and in a letter from Assistant Principal of Supervision, Eva White.
“Costumes that depict a male as a female and vice versa should not be worn…similarly, costumes must be respectful of ethnic and cultural diversity,” according to the letter from White which was posted on the FVHS webpage.
Students took to social media to express their disappointment with the announcement.
“There’s no [expletive] binary for what clothes belong to what gender,” read one student tweet.
In an interview with Baron News, White explained that none of the Halloween dress up regulations had been modified from previous years. Instead, White intended to add reinforcement to previous rules that have been instigated by the Huntington Beach Union High School District.
“The APs [assistant principals] of supervision all have to come up with rules in general. It came from that group,” said White.
White clarified that students may dress up as characters of the opposite gender. However, she explained, they may not dress up to ridicule feminine or masculine characteristics.
“There’s an appropriateness and inappropriateness and something that crosses the line. So dress up as a character and have fun on Halloween, but it has to be appropriate,” said White.
Leading up to the reinforcement, White noted it was mainly students who questioned certain Halloween costumes, rather than parents or staff.
“[The Halloween Costume Guidelines] are there to protect the kids; the groups of kids that have been sometimes picked on, made fun of. It’s our [the APs] way of saying, ‘Listen, be careful’,” said White. “Use your best judgement.”
