Boy in a Santa Suit asked to leave school dance

The Hampton Union ^ | December 21, 2004 | Patrick Cronin

[O.C. - Old Cracker]

Bryan Lafond, in a photo taken at his home,
before going to the holiday dance at Hampton
Academy Junior High School on Friday night.

HAMPTON - A parent of a Hampton Academy Junior High School student says the principal of the school told his son to leave the school’s holiday dance on Friday night because the boy was dressed in a Santa Claus costume, which was politically incorrect. Michael Lafond said his son, Bryan, went to the dance dressed as Santa because it was a holiday party.

"He asked if he could dress like Santa and we said yes," said Lafond. "We went to Brooks and purchased the outfit and everything."

Lafond said his wife dropped off Bryan at the school.

"I went to the dance with my friend," said Bryan Lafond, who is in seventh grade. "He had an elf hat on and we thought it was pretty cool. Everyone loved the suit, but when I went by the principal, he asked why I was dressed like that."

Principal Fred Muscara said he told the boy he couldn’t get into the dance because he was wearing the costume.

"It was a holiday party," said Muscara. "It was not a Christmas party. There is a separation of church and state. We have a lot of students that go to Hampton Academy Junior High that have different religions. We have to be sensitive to that."

Bryan said while Muscara didn’t say he had to leave, he told Bryan if he wanted to go the dance he would have to change out of the suit and put on proper attire for the dance.

Having nothing to change into, Bryan left the dance to try and find his mother.

"My wife was leaving the parking lot when she saw Bryan running out of the building," said Lafond. "He told her that the principal said it was politically incorrect to wear the Santa outfit."

"I saw him running out of the building crying," said Leslie Lafond, Bryan’s mother.

Lafond said while he disagrees with their reasoning he could almost understand it.

What he couldn’t understand was why his son was able to leave the dance.

"One of reasons why we are so angry is that the school has a policy that says once you go to the dance you can’t leave until it’s over," said Lafond. "You can’t leave school grounds unless they call a parent. If my wife wasn’t there, my son would have been out roaming the streets."

Bryan’s mother picked up her son and drove him home to change.

Lafond said his wife had to persuade Bryan to go back to the dance.

"He was so embarrassed," said Lafond. "It wasn’t like he was trying to pull a prank. He is just a good-natured kid getting into the holiday spirit who just happened to walk right by Scrooge."

Muscara said he was unaware that Bryan left the dance.

"I asked if he had something he could change into and he said he did," said Muscara.

Lafond said when his wife drove Bryan back to the dance, she complained to school officials.

She said she also complained to several School Board members and Muscara.

On Monday, Bryan’s parents went before the School Board to voice their concerns.

"I don’t want this to happen again," said Leslie. "It is unacceptable. When Bryan returned to the school, the principal said, ‘What are you doing, trying to get me fired.’ That is not a proper comment to make to a student."

Superintendent James Gaylord told the School Board it would discuss the matter in non-public session because it involved a student and personnel.

When contacted at her house Monday afternoon, Hampton School Board Chairman Nancy Serpis said she was concerned with what she heard.

"We need to look at the whole situation," said Serpis.

Lafond said political correctness is getting out of control.

"I don’t get it," said Lafond, citing a PTA breakfast with Santa at the school a couple of weeks ago.

"What’s next? Are they going to get rid of Halloween because of paganism?" he asked.

"The last time I checked, Christmas was the celebration of the birth of Christ and not Santa Claus," Leslie said. "I want them to make an apology to my son. My son was humiliated."

[SoftballMominVA]

I have a question tho, what about the kid in the elf hat? Was that ok? hmmmm

[ladylib]

A lot of public schools are calling themselves "academies" today. Maybe it's a charter.

[usadave]

"It was a holiday party," said Muscara. "It was not a Christmas party. There is a separation of church and state."

How does an ignoramus such as Muscara ever end up becoming a principal when he has apparently never taken a U.S. Civics course.

[politicalwit]

"It was a holiday party...It was not a Christmas party."

It's time to remove all "religious" holidays from schools whether it's Christmas or Ramadam. It's time that those "religious" days taken off be utilized in academics. Why should schools shut down in the middle of winter? Why should parents be inconvenienced with finding daycare for children when they should be in school?

It's time to eliminate ALL reference to religion from schools be it christianity, judiasm, hinduism...no reference to any God, any religion and no exceptions including those that wish to face east and pray.

It's time to eliminate federal holidays that reference religion. Just think about federal courts, politicians, all federal employees working on Christmas or Easter. Think about unions losing paid days off. Think about teachers having to work a five day work week without numerous "holiday breaks" like the majority of the workforce.

It's time to give these "anti-Christmas" folks exactly what they want.

[JMJJR]

"What’s next? Are they going to get rid of Halloween because of paganism?" he asked.

They'll never get rid of Halloween for that reason.

[jwalsh07]

"It was a holiday party," said Muscara. "It was not a Christmas party. There is a separation of church and state. We have a lot of students that go to Hampton Academy Junior High that have different religions. We have to be sensitive to that."

This lunatic should be in the mental ward of the gulag, not running a junior high school.

[usadave]

So you wouldn't mind if someone showed up at a Christmas party wearing red robes and sporting a pentagram necklace?

I know that it has been traditional for people dressed up as Santa Claus to show up at a Christmas party. Has it been traditional for people wearing red robes and sporting a pentagram necklace to show up at a Christmas party?

[Xenalyte]

Hiya, Trey!

[Xenalyte]

"I saw him running out of the building crying," said Leslie Lafond, Bryan’s mother.

A BOY is crying because a principal told him to change clothes? What a puss.

[Steve_Seattle]

How did a moron like Muscara become principal? If he's really so sensitive to the viewpoint of other religions, he wouldn't have any dances at all and he wouldn't allow girls to go to school.

[pke]

Santa is very sensitive.

[Steve_Seattle]

"There is a separation of church and state."

What a brain-dead freak this principal is. He understands neither the Constitution, nor Supreme Court rulings on the topic, nor does he have any common sense.

[Cowboy Bob]

I would like to see some news organization do a report on Principal Fred Muscara and ask him, on camera, to explain himself.

[Steve_Seattle]

"the Japanese have adopted Santa Claus"

A friend told me that many years ago when Japanese entrepreneurs were first beginning to make Christmas items, one company got the wrong impression of who Santa Claus was - didn't understand his relationship to Christianity - and created a toy with Santa Claus attached to a crucifix. :-)

[Steve_Seattle]

"It was a holiday party," said Muscara. "It was not a Christmas party. There is a separation of church and state.

If we follow this guy's "logic" all the way to the end, Christian students - and students of other religious faiths - would have to be banned from public schools because providing them with an education is indirectly benefitting religion.

[Steve_Seattle]

"A BOY is crying because a principal told him to change clothes? What a puss."

I disagree; he is just a kid, a teenager, and to be thrown out of a school event for something that he had no reason to believe would cause a problem IS traumatic. A punk maybe wouldn't give a damn, might even think the whole thing was funny, but a good kid who meant no harm might very well be confused and upset by this.

[RBroadfoot]

The dance was a private function at a private school. There is no church-state issue.

However, we ought to agree that the management of the school (i.e., the principal) has the authority to determine what is and is not acceptable attire for the function.

It's up to the customers (i.e., the parents) to determine whether they want to do business with the school in the future if it is to retain such policies.

It's really none of my business, nor yours unless you have a child enrolled in the school.

Personally, I'd take no exception to a dress code that stipulated normal attire and thus excluded Santa suits not on religious grounds, though, but on standards of decorum. In any case, it's a private issue for this particular school.

[FierceKulak]

I cannot wait until the table breaks and we can stick the heads of principals like his on pikes
Ouch, that's a tiny bit too far don'cha think?

[FierceKulak]

There was nothing stopping anyone from having this principal's head on a pike--outside of a lack of balls.
A sense of proportion mayhaps?

[Private_Sector_Does_It_Better]

Here is the principle's email address:
fmuscara@sau21.k12.nh.us

Let's all send Mr. Muscara and email and let him know what we think.