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LOUISVILLE, Ohio (WJW) — A Stark County school district is ending a “cherished custom” of its band, acknowledging that it is “extremely offensive to most people.”
Discussion on the Louisville City Schools’ Facebook page indicates the band’s traditional “Hi!” greeting included a hand gesture that appears to resemble a Nazi salute.
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Louisville City Schools is now creating a more “appropriate” greeting for its band to use in the future, Superintendent Michelle Shaffer wrote in a statement on Friday.
The band used the gesture in its appearance at the Stark County Fair this week, launching a “community dialogue” about its use, Shaffer said.
The gesture resembles a dark time in world history and is extremely offensive to most people, the Jewish community, and especially those who have been directly and indirectly affected.
I have asked the administrative staff to work with the Band Director and me to ensure that an appropriate greeting from our students will be used in the future. As educators and leaders, we have a duty to ensure that our school environment fosters respect and sensitivity for all members of our community.
I would ask for patience and grace from our community while we work through this issue. Our school, like our country, has been and still is a work in progress.
Michelle Shaffer, Louisville City Schools superintendent
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The greeting was a “cherished custom” used to show the band’s “enthusiasm and connection with the audience,” reads the district’s Facebook post — but it won’t be used during the band’s halftime show on Friday.
The district plans to keep the “Hi” greeting, but change the accompanying hand motion, according to a comment a district representative made under the post.
Online commenters — many of whom claimed to be school district alumni — had mixed reactions to the decision. Some argued the greeting was innocuous, likening administrators’ decision to censorship, while others said a change in favor of cultural sensitivity was long overdue.
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