Student Cuases Stir When He Wears Hitler Costume To School

[matcom]

<snip>

NEW YORK --A Brooklyn high school student caused a stir when he showed up for class dressed as Adolf Hitler for Halloween.

Walter Petryk, 16, defended his costume Tuesday, insisting it was a satire of the Nazi dictator.

But some students and officials at Leon M. Goldstein High School were not impressed.

School administrators ordered the junior honors student to remove his beige coat bearing a red swastika armband or possibly face spending the day in the office, Petryk told the New York Post for Wednesday editions.

Petryk refused, saying his parody was protected by his right to freedom of expression.

Petryk's stepfather, Howard Bloom, who is Jewish and lost relatives during the Nazi genocide, told the Post he was initially "very disturbed" by the costume but nonetheless defended his stepson's rights.

"If he had wanted to advocate my genocide, I wouldn't have allowed" the costume, Bloom said. "That wasn't the spirit in which he was doing this at all. He was doing it in the spirit of Monty Python and Mel Brooks."

The city's Department of Education discipline code allows for the removal of students from class if they wear clothing that causes a disruption.

In order to avoid a disruption on the way to school, Petryk disguised his Hitler getup as a costume of Charlie Chaplin, adding a bowler hat and cane.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/11/01/student_causes_stir_with_hitler_costume/

[noonwitch]

1. Eric Cartman

There's an older South Park episode where Eric Cartman comes to school dressed as Hitler. Everyone freaks out and Principal Victoria makes him a ghost costume out of a sheet, that ends up looking like a klan robe. It's a very funny episode.

[ghostsofgiants]

2. Good episode.

[Initech]

5. Heh, Cartman was the first thing that came to mind!

[Deep13]

3. Um, did it cause a disruption?

Or was it just the administration trying to be big fish in little ponds?

[LaraMN]

4. Hey Matcom,

How does one "cuase" a stir?

:P :P :P

[matcom]

6. with their inner thighs

:rofl:

[ikojo]

7. Umm...the kid goes to a high school named GOLDSTEIN and

he didn't think it woiuld be a problem to dress as HITLER?

Me thinks he is not in the AP classes.