I am trying to understand the point of Sue Roy’s grossly editorialized front page article in the October 25 WW-P News: “No Halloween for Hawk School.” From the facts she provides, there WAS a Hawk Halloween event being held on October 26: a parade and concert. Yet it appears that Ms. Roy has decided to use her access to a news forum to bemoan that said Halloween event — at a school her children do not attend — is being held on a day that she doesn’t like. As a Hawk parent, I was pleased when I learned of the Saturday event because my husband could now join the family in creating the “lasting memories” that Ms. Roy presents as the crux of her issue.
Having the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom, I have attended the traditional Hawk parade for the past four years and here are some “lasting memories” that I have seen. I’ve seen parents in full business dress run across the field, frantically trying to be seen so their child will know that they were there. I’ve also talked with guilt-ridden parents who got held at the office unexpectedly as well as those who had to “sneak out” of their office only to miss their child’s class walk by. Several times I’ve had friends who can’t miss work call me in a panic to ask if I could cheer for their child and take pictures because their child had spent the morning crying because mom or dad couldn’t attend.
I’ve also seen children without costumes dejectedly walking alongside costumed classmates. Perhaps they don’t have their costume for a different reason but one of the “lasting memories” I have is the year my daughter’s costume didn’t make it to pre-school because I was in a rush to catch an earlier morning train so I could justify leaving work early to take her trick-or-treating.
Each year I’ve also noticed that majority of attending parents are those such as myself whose work status or job location affords them the possibility of attending a 20-minute mid-day event. Ms. Roy, if you are going to editorialize, why not state: Hawk’s New Saturday Halloween Program Allows More Parents to Create Lasting Memories With Their Children? Or, better yet, commend Hawk’s administration, teachers, and PTA members for giving up their free Saturday hours to host a bigger, better, and more inclusive event.
Though if Ms. Roy is really worried about families not having “lasting memories,” she could recommend readers look at the day-by-day events in the same issue of the WW-P News. In the upcoming days are no fewer than 25 Halloween-specific events.
Finally, and what was perhaps most disappointing, WW-P News allowed a writer’s emotional viewpoint to take precedence over the only newsworthy item in the article: security issues. Instead Ms. Roy trivializes the issue by saying “Likely security concerns played some part.” In the future I hope WW-P News will place pieces like these in the Views & Opinions section and save real news for the front page.
Eileen Azzara
Hawk Parent
#b#Editorial director Richard K. Rein responds:#/b# Judging by Eileen Azzara’s description of frantic, guilt-ridden parents, and crying and dejected children, Halloween at Hawk sounds like a major activity. Changing the event to a non-school day, and limiting it to children whose parents are able to accompany them, sounds like a valid news story.
The story was originally scheduled for the October 11 issue. But when Sue Roy was unable to obtain a comment from the principal we postponed it for two weeks. At that point, with the principal still declining to comment and the district providing only a guarded statement (which we quoted in our October 25 article), I decided to run the story with the facts that we had. I also moved the story from inside to page one.
Like everyone else, reporters are informed partly by their life experiences. Sue Roy was a Hawk School parent for five years, and is entitled to her observation about “lasting memories.” As a parent myself, I wonder if the observance of the Halloween “holiday” has become a hindrance to classroom activities. If either the principal or the district chooses to respond, space will be available.
