Calif. high school conducting sensitivity training after student wears Nazi costume
LOS ANGELES _ An Indio, Calif., high school is conducting sensitivity training for its students after a sophomore girl came to class dressed as a Nazi on Halloween.
The Shadow Hills High School student, whose name has not been released, wore a brown military uniform with a red armband bearing a swastika Monday, said Mary Perry, a spokeswoman for the Desert Sands Unified School District.
Principal Marcus Wood that morning asked the girl to remove the costume, and "the student was very contrite, very apologetic," saying it was not her intent to upset people, Perry said. The girl quickly removed the costume.
"She considers herself a student of history and felt it was a historical costume without understanding the historical ramifications of it," Perry said. The principal had multiple discussions with the student and her parents, and he has discussed the incident with the student body and sent messages to parents, Perry said.
Pictures of the girl in her costume circulated on Twitter and on Snapchat, but many of the posts have been deleted, Perry said. A Snapchat video showing the girl included the caption "My favorite nazi," the Desert Sun reported. District officials termed the situation an "isolated incident" and said that it caused no safety concerns.
Desert Sands Unified School District board member Wendy Jonathan said in an interview that she was "disappointed" in the student's decision. The girl made a conscious effort to make the costume, which you can't easily buy in a store, Jonathan said.
"There's no excuse for coming to school dressed like that," she said. "She said she was a history buff, so obviously she knew to some degree what she was coming dressed as."
_Los Angeles Times
