Seminole High School Students Rebuked for Dressing up as Mexicans at ‘Alien’ Party

Seminole High School Students Rebuked for Dressing up as Mexicans at ‘Alien’ Party
Seminole High School. (Google Maps)

Two students from a Seminole high school in Pinellas County, Florida, were rebuked after they showed up at an “Alien” party—dressed as Mexicans.

“Cultural insensitivity is not tolerated at Seminole High School. Unfortunately, two students exercised poor judgment and wore an outfit that was offensive. The choices of these students were disappointing and are not reflective of the Seminole High community. Pinellas County Schools will follow the Student Code of Conduct to address this issue,” Pinellas County School District spokeswoman Lisa Wolf-Chason said in a statement, reported WFLA.

Extra-Terrestrial Day or Alien Day was part of Seminole High’s prom week, where different festivities were designated each day.

Two students seemingly thought it would be fun to show up at Alien Day wearing stereotypical Mexican attire. They’d been around for most of the day, unhindered, according to reports.

Photos of the students wearing sombreros, one of them with an oversized mustache, along with white t-shirts and jeans,…

Posted by Spectrum Bay News 9 on Monday, April 29, 2019

They posted a picture of them in costume wearing sombreros, one with an oversized mustache, along with white T-shirts and jeans. It quickly began spreading on social media, after which they added a poll question: “Was it wrong of us to dress as Mexicans for extraterrestrial/alien day?” The answering options were, “Yes, are you dumb,” or, “No, that’s funny.” A Twitter post also went viral and spread quickly.

Apparently, some students and parents did complain to the school administration and the students were summoned to take off their outfits. After being reprimanded, the students were allowed to finish the school day, according to Wolf-Chason.

Spectrum Bay News 9 decided not to reveal the names of the two students involved and the school district is not allowed to talk about specific student discipline, Wolf-Chason said.

The National President of the League of United Latin Americans, Domingo Garcia, said he hoped the students would get a sensitivity training. He added that portraying such kinds of stereotypes provokes a hostile environment for Hispanics, according to News 9.

“We need to make sure that they understand that it’s not just a joke. Bullying and especially bigotry bullying is not a joke,” Garcia said. “It’s better just to say, ‘You know what? We’re going to respect our differences.”

The term “illegal alien” is also outmoded, according to Garcia, and should not be used anymore.

“We’re talking about immigrants, refugees, who are coming across the border, women, and children,” he said. “To try to put them in that category of ‘aliens,’ somebody different, somebody not like us, again, plays to that division and that bigotry that we’ve seen too much in this country.”

Current and former students at Seminole High School called the students out on social media for wearing the contentious costumes.

“They knew damn well it was potentially offensive to do what they did,” said graduate Denni Romulo. “This is racist and demeaning, and I won’t shut up about it.”

“I’m not allowed to wear holes in my jeans or leggings to school, but kids are allowed to dress completely racist?” said student Madeline Harnisher. “It just amazes me how messed up our school is.”

“This is not OK,” said graduate Brandi-Shea Figueiredo. “I’m ashamed to say that I graduated there.”

Garcia said that, overall, the young generation has embraced inclusion.

“There’s more people that believe that we need to get together, we need to work and respect each other’s differences,” he said. “There’s more things that keep us united than divide us.”

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