With Halloween right around the corner, Powell High School students have started thinking about what they want to wear. There are plenty of choices, from superheroes to vampires, but the question is what is allowed and tolerated.
On the administration side of things, there are not a lot of rules regarding costumes. PHS principal Timothy Wormald stated costumes are permitted so long as they don’t cause a distraction.
“A lot of this comes down to safety and the level of distraction,” Wormald said. “We do not want clothing, including costumes, to interfere with students’ learning. We treat Halloween like any other day when it falls on a school day.”
The idea that Halloween costumes are distracting was a common theme. Students don’t want to be distracted, and they understand that the teachers feel the same way.
“I get that teachers don’t really want [students wearing costumes], because it could be a distraction…” sophomore Anika Anderson said. “I think we should be able to wear silly little cloaks and stuff that are part of costumes and we can do our makeup all crazy. No masks and as long as it is not a distraction, we should be able to [dress up].”
Anderson’s idea of no masks is the only rule that the administration enforces. No masks can be worn on Halloween.
“We also need to be able to identify the student for safety reasons,” Wormald said. “In other words, students cannot wear masks that cover their face.”
Even with this rule, many students are glad that dressing up for Halloween is allowed. Freshman Tallia Cheatam agreed with the masses.
“[Costumes] are important to show school spirit,” Cheatham said. “I think that it is still important, that even when you are older, to enjoy things like that.”
Junior Isabelle Urbach brought up an interesting point: religion. It is against some religions to celebrate the holiday of Halloween.
“I think that so long as it is respectful to certain religions, it is fine,” Urbach said. “You just don’t want to offend anybody.”
To those interviewed, Halloween is a very important holiday. From the candy to the memories, Halloween is cemented as one of the most popular holidays at PHS.“Halloween is important because you get candy,” Urbach said. “[Halloween] is something special. You always remember going trick-or-treating.”
