By Khalida Sarwari
In the weeks following Monta Vista High School’s Homecoming rally, the conversations among students on campus have centered around two things: the disappointment of the graduating class losing to the juniors and what the school’s assistant principal said about the girls on the dance team.
Some of the details around the controversial remark made by assistant principal Mike White are murky, but at least one person overheard him saying members of the senior girls’ dance group dressed up like “skanky hoes.” The girls wear black athletic shorts, white tank top and an oversized baseball jersey.
Some have speculated his remark meant to convey that when the girls’ jerseys were closed, it appeared they weren’t wearing anything underneath and that it was not an appropriate look for the performance.
Without acknowledging what words he used, White, who also heads the school’s student leadership group, later acknowledged and apologized for his comment, explaining that while he regretted the language, his comment came “from a place of concern.” In a written apology that ran in the school’s newsmagazine, El Estoque, White wrote: “I hold myself to the same standard that I hold each student and adult in our community and so, when I have made a mistake, I take responsibility and work towards repairing the relationships affected.”
He did not respond to this news organization’s requests for comment. School Principal Ben Clausnitzer said he thought White’s words were inappropriate, he found his apology sufficient and doesn’t plan to seek disciplinary action against him.
“I am proud that Mr. White immediately recognized that he had made a mistake and handled the situation poorly,” he wrote in an email. “He chose to take responsibility and confront this mistake head on by apologizing directly to the students involved, his leadership students and our entire staff.”
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Within a few days of making the remark, White invited anyone who was affected by his words to a public meeting where he delivered his apology in person. The response from students since then has run the gamut of acceptance and forgiveness to rejection and hurt.
One student took to Facebook to air her grievances. In a public post on the social media site, Nia Ivanova complained that White’s “misogynistic language” creates a toxic school environment.
“We live in a society that often shames young women for their appearances and these are horrible words that many of us will have to deal with for the rest of our lives,” she wrote. “However, school should be a safe space where we don’t have to fear these kinds of derogatory comments, much less from the assistant principal.”
She and another Monta Vista student referenced in the El Estoque article suggested that boys at the school are held to a different standard. They gave the example of the water polo team participating in activities wearing just a speedo. Meanwhile, female students are more likely to be chastised for their attire, despite a lenient dress code policy, they said.
“It’s so lax, I don’t even know what it is,” said Sadhana Indukuri, a 17-year-old Monta Vista senior who participated in the dance skit and was present at the practice where White was overheard.
But maybe that’s the problem, said Samantha Millar, a former student who now attends George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Millar, 18, said she doesn’t remember the policy ever being spelled out for students. While she couldn’t recall seeing any student being pulled out of class for improper attire, Millar hinted at a culture where administrators still pass judgement on female students. At a school dance her freshman year, Millar said her outfit — a crop top and high-waisted shorts — drew a snarky response from an administrator, but that after talking about the incident with her mother, she chalked it up to it being a sign of a generational gap.
“I think students should be allowed to dress how they want to dress especially because at our school it’s not proportionate amongst the genders,” she said. “If it’s holding one gender to a different standard than another I don’t think that’s fair.”
Some Monta Vista students have accepted White’s apology and are ready to move on. Sadhana said that while his choice of words were “horrible” and should never be directed at a student, she is prepared to “forgive, but not forget.”
“If he showed a pattern of this behavior I would absolutely be outraged,” she said. “He apologized and I thought it was OK, so I’d rather focus my time and my attention and my anger on something more important or pressing.”
Others are extending forgiveness, but conditionally.
“We forgive him, but we still are kind of upset with him,” said senior Sarvagnya Chodavarapu, adding that White’s comment has affected the school’s reputation. “People at other schools have asked, ‘Oh your assistant principal said this?'”
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