Mundelein High cancels Spirit Day, cites bullying
Bullying and incidents of vandalism have led to the cancellation of a traditional homecoming event at Mundelein High School, the principal said Thursday.
Homecoming week begins Monday, Sept. 22. In previous years, students celebrated their class by wearing clothing with certain colors on Spirit Day, which traditionally had been held on the Wednesday of homecoming week. Seniors would wear orange, for example, and freshmen would wear blue.
On the 2007 Spirit Day, however, 85 students were suspended for a variety of infractions relating to the celebration. Some students doused teens in other classes with paint, Principal Lauren Fagel said. Others damaged lockers and walls with paint, she said.
Teachers' clothes were ruined, Fagel said, and some teens complained that they feared walking through the halls.
"It had become a major safety hazard," said Fagel, who is in her first year at Mundelein High.
Because of those incidents and other concerns, Fagel decided about two weeks ago to cancel Spirit Day - initially set for Wednesday, Sept. 24 - and replace it with Twin Day, for which teens are encouraged to dress alike.
Students who wear the traditional Spirit Day colors to school that day or who bring paint, tape or other materials to school to demonstrate those colors could be suspended and face other disciplinary action, Fagel wrote in a recent letter to parents.
Students can wear T-shirts with those colors on other days next week, she said - just not Wednesday.
"We're not going to condone anything that promotes class competition on that day," Fagel said.
Superintendent Jody Ware supports the decision. She criticized the bullying, hazing and property damage of prior Spirit Days.
"We're fortunate that, in the past, no one was seriously injured," said Ware, who also is in her first year at Mundelein. "It's not the intent of this school district to put kids out of school, but rather to provide a healthy, safe and sound educational environment."
Some students approached made plans to skirt the edict - such as wearing black shirts with oranges on them - but such schemes will result in punishment, Fagel said.
Senior Sarah Markgraf is among the students upset about the color ban. She hasn't heard of anyone bullied or hazed on Spirit Day.
"I don't know one student who does not look forward to that day," she said. "It's fun. It's a day for friendly competition."
Fagel has heard protests from some parents and students, but she said she's also received support from many staffers.
Although Fagel is serious about the ban, she said administrators will not be scouring the school for violators.
"Our goal is not to find kids who are going about their day in their classes and suspend them," she said. "The point is to send the message that the pattern of the paint and the bullying and the destruction of property had gotten out of control, and we need to stop that pattern of behavior."