This tradition is as old as school. I remember dressing up in construction paper costumes as pilgrims and indians in K and 1st grade. Now it is so un PC that the police had to show up. Its KINDERGARTEN for goodness sake!
Police called over Thanksgiving dispute at Claremont school
Tensions rise as foes and backers of a longtime celebration involving kindergartners in Indian and pilgrim costumes demonstrate outside Condit Elementary. The district eliminated the costumes this yea
By Seema Mehta
November 26, 2008
Protesters descended Tuesday on Condit Elementary School in Claremont, tersely arguing over the construction-paper pilgrim and Native American costumes worn by kindergartners at a decades-old Thanksgiving tradition. Police were called to the school when tensions rose.
Officers also were monitoring Claremont Unified Supt. David Cash's home after he received hate mail and told police that he feared for his safety.
"It's been wild," said one woman who worked at the school. She declined to give her name because she wasn't authorized to speak on behalf of the school.
Cash and Condit Principal Tim Northrop did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment.
For four decades, children at Condit and Mountain View elementary schools have taken annual turns dressing up and visiting each other to share a Thanksgiving feast. Controversy erupted after district officials last week decided to eliminate the Native American and pilgrim costumes from this year's event after some parents complained that they were demeaning and stereotypical. Other parents were infuriated by the district's modifications of the event, saying that administrators had bowed to political correctness.
On Tuesday morning, some parents dressed their children in the hand-made headdresses, bonnets and fringed vests, and school officials did not force the students to remove them. Still, some parents vowed to keep their children home from school Wednesday, potentially costing the district state attendance funds.
Nearly two dozen protesters stationed themselves in front of the school, evenly split between costume supporters and opponents. The supporters set up a table with refreshments in front of the school sign, and several wore construction-paper headdresses. Foes stood about 40 feet away, carrying signs that said, "Don't Celebrate Genocide."
The discussion between the two groups grew so heated that school officials called police, and officials separated the protesters onto separate sidewalks, said Claremont Police Lt. Dennis Smith.
Meanwhile, the kindergartners frolicked nearby on the playground, Smith said.
"The kids were oblivious," he said, "as they should be."
Mehta is a Times staff writer.
seema.mehta@latimes.com
Times staff writer Lorraine Wang contributed to this story.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-claremont26-2008nov26,0,5638652,print.story
Police called over Thanksgiving dispute at Claremont school
Tensions rise as foes and backers of a longtime celebration involving kindergartners in Indian and pilgrim costumes demonstrate outside Condit Elementary. The district eliminated the costumes this yea
By Seema Mehta
November 26, 2008
Protesters descended Tuesday on Condit Elementary School in Claremont, tersely arguing over the construction-paper pilgrim and Native American costumes worn by kindergartners at a decades-old Thanksgiving tradition. Police were called to the school when tensions rose.
Officers also were monitoring Claremont Unified Supt. David Cash's home after he received hate mail and told police that he feared for his safety.
"It's been wild," said one woman who worked at the school. She declined to give her name because she wasn't authorized to speak on behalf of the school.
Cash and Condit Principal Tim Northrop did not return phone calls or e-mails seeking comment.
For four decades, children at Condit and Mountain View elementary schools have taken annual turns dressing up and visiting each other to share a Thanksgiving feast. Controversy erupted after district officials last week decided to eliminate the Native American and pilgrim costumes from this year's event after some parents complained that they were demeaning and stereotypical. Other parents were infuriated by the district's modifications of the event, saying that administrators had bowed to political correctness.
On Tuesday morning, some parents dressed their children in the hand-made headdresses, bonnets and fringed vests, and school officials did not force the students to remove them. Still, some parents vowed to keep their children home from school Wednesday, potentially costing the district state attendance funds.
Nearly two dozen protesters stationed themselves in front of the school, evenly split between costume supporters and opponents. The supporters set up a table with refreshments in front of the school sign, and several wore construction-paper headdresses. Foes stood about 40 feet away, carrying signs that said, "Don't Celebrate Genocide."
The discussion between the two groups grew so heated that school officials called police, and officials separated the protesters onto separate sidewalks, said Claremont Police Lt. Dennis Smith.
Meanwhile, the kindergartners frolicked nearby on the playground, Smith said.
"The kids were oblivious," he said, "as they should be."
Mehta is a Times staff writer.
seema.mehta@latimes.com
Times staff writer Lorraine Wang contributed to this story.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-claremont26-2008nov26,0,5638652,print.story
Maybe it would have been better if they did a play on how things actually went down? That would make for one memorable school play. 
