The principal of Jones College Prep in Chicago was temporarily removed from his position after a student wore a German military uniform and goose-stepped during a Halloween costume display.
On Friday, the Chicago Sun Times reported that the student did the Nazi "goose-step" march on stage during a costume showcase.
Students reportedly told the principal that they were uncomfortable with someone dressing like a Nazi, even for Halloween, and the principal tried to calm their worries by assuring them the student was dressed up as a Communist-era East German border guard from the 1980’s -- not a genocidal Nazi from the 1940s.
“I tried to explain the context and time period of the uniform to the students who spoke with me, but apparently the student who wore the uniform may have told people it was from the 1940s,” Joseph Powers, the school’s principal, said in a note to the school’s staff on Monday.
The uniform and helmet worn by the student look similar to those worn by East German border guards during the late 1980s, seen below. Those guards also continued to use the goose-step march despite its previous use during the Nazi era.
According to ABC 7, parents in the district received a letter from the Chicago Public Schools that a student wore a "German military uniform" as a Halloween costume that was reportedly seen as "an act that widely recognised by many students, staff, and members of our broader CPS community as anti-Semitic."
CPS said in the letter: "This incident caused harm to many students and staff, and it is completely inconsistent with our values as a school district. It also comes at a time when hateful speech and hateful attacks are on the rise, especially against Jewish Americans. We have an obligation not only to prevent bias-based harm in CPS schools, but to ensure that when students and staff go out to the broader community, they carry with them the values of tolerance, inclusion, and anti-bigotry."
Students are planning a walkout for Monday to protest the school’s handling of the situation.
“I’m kind of disappointed in the way that administration has responded,” Yamali Rodas, who leads the school’s Association of Latin American Students, told the Chicago Sun Times. “They should have set him aside and had a conversation with him about why it was inappropriate.”
Mr Powers was relieved as the school’s principal for the duration of the investigation. The Chicago Teacher’s Union also called for him to step down on Friday or that he be removed.
Prior to this incident, Mr Powers was targeted by a group that partly consisted of parents challenging his residency eligibility to serve as the principal. He also faced allegations that he failed to appropriately respond to teacher misconduct complaints and that he fostered an unwelcoming environment for transgender and gender nonconforming students, as well as students of colour.
The CEO of CPS, Pedro Martinez, determined at the time that "there is insufficient evidence of misconduct by Mr. Powers at this time on which to base an action for involuntary dismissal.”
The Independent has reached out to Mr Powers for comment.
