In Pennsylvania, the Upper Adams School District distributed a four-page letter to graduating high school seniors, on “Proper Attire & Etiquette for Awards Program and Graduation.” It included useful advice (take diploma in left hand, so you can shake with right), information about seating (limited), pleas not to block others’ views, etc.

It also included some casual nastiness. “This isn’t about you.” (To audience members.) Jokes about not acting like rednecks. Don’t shake with a limp hand like a dead fish.

Actual sausage roll, described by photographer as “especially delicious.” WHY THE HATE?

Boys were instructed not to wear low-hanging pants. For the girls, there was meaner, uglier advice on “modest attire.”

First there was odd commentary on skirts, warning that if a person is on stage, the audience will be looking up at them. “Therefore, if your skirt is too short, it means that everyone in the auditorium will know exactly what kind of underwear you have on. The same guideline applies to you…some choices should remain private. If you don’t have a longer skirt, wear slacks.”

What does that second sentence mean? Is this about the possibility that students will wear short skirts and no underwear? Really?

Then there’s this vicious paragraph of body-shaming:

“No bellies showing, keep ‘the girls’ covered and supported, and make sure that nothing is so small that all your bits and pieces are hanging out. Please remember that as you select an outfit for the awards assembly that we don’t want to be looking at ‘sausage rolls’ as Mrs. Elliott calls them. As you get dressed remember that you can’t put 10 pounds of mud in a five-pound sack.”

Mud? Mud? MUD?

Whoever wrote this, male or female, has a lot of unconcealed hostility toward female bodies. And too much interest in talking about them. The passage about “the girls,” with its suggestion that merely covering breasts is not enough – because we need to know that you are also wearing a bra for support – is creepy.

Actually, there is much to be said for mud. Yasothon Rocket Festival, Thailand.

Parents objected to the letter, and the school district issued a statement:

The Administration of the Upper Adams School District is aware that a document titled “Proper Attire & Etiquette for Awards Program and Graduation” was distributed to the senior class on May 26. The Administration acknowledges that some individuals have found certain language in the document to be inappropriate or in poor taste. The document was drafted years ago, and the author of the original document has since retired. The document does not reflect the high standards of the Upper Adams School District, and the Administration will take appropriate action to address the issue. While we regret that the document contained some unfortunate word choices, we do respect all students and hope this does not distract from the dignity of the graduation ceremony and the accomplishments of our graduating class.

Stinky apology. Doesn’t take responsibility, minimizes the offense. It basically says:

Yeah, that happened. Not our fault. We didn’t write it, we just kept sending it out year after year, without checking for grammar or bile. It’s just word choices! We’ll stop. Though we’re not to blame, we regret it. Don’t do anything to ruin graduation.

It reminds me of the sad fact that people who dislike kids and/or think lewdly about kids are surprisingly well-represented in school administrations. How do they end up there? Why aren’t they squelched? I’ve never understood.