Snow Canyon High School hosts 'Men's Week,' prompting community outrage

Emily Havens | The Spectrum

A Southern Utah school is receiving harsh feedback in light of a school-sanctioned "Men's Week."

Snow Canyon High School had dubbed Oct. 22-26 as "Men's Week," with several events scheduled like arm wrestling, dodge ball, a Super Smash Bros tournament, and an early-out lunch hour with free pizza for its male students.

A Facebook post explaining the nature of the event coupled with several photos of posters promoting masculinity over femininity quickly went viral Monday night, sparking outrage from online commentators.

Several posters are shown displaying messages like, "What's a woman's point of view? The kitchen window," "How do you blind a woman? Put a windshield in front of her," "Enter if you believe men are the superior gender," and more.

According to Steve Dunham, WCSD's director of communications, the posters were not approved by school administrators, and some of the photos shared were from previous years, he said.

"They were put up after school hours," Dunham said. "The next morning (on Tuesday) administration said they took them down."

Dunham said the school also hosts a "Women's Week" in February as part of its Preference Dance activities. However, in light of this incident, corrective action is being taken to immediately eliminate these types of events and celebrations, Dunham said.

Several family members of SCHS students expressed shock and outrage at the incident. Rik Andes said his daughter came home from school on Monday expressing confusion about the posters and a school-sponsored assembly for Men's Week.

"She was not happy at all with the posters, but she was equally disturbed by the assembly and the way that the male faculty leading it (she doesn't know who the man is) talked about how it was a celebration of 'toxic masculinity," Andes wrote in a message, adding that those were the faculty member's exact words, according to his daughter.

Andes said his daughter said she was upset because the man leading the assembly asserted "something was wrong with you" if you didn't support "this view" of masculinity or manhood, or were offended by the celebration.

As parents, Andes said he and his wife were at a loss for words.

"After explaining what she had seen, and after saying there were worse posters that she didn’t take pictures of, she just looked at us like she had no idea how such a thing could be happening, and we had no answer for her," Andes said in a message. "I personally felt at a complete loss to explain it, and my wife and I kept looking at each other, not knowing what to say."

Andes said he feels as though he "failed" his daughter by enrolling her at SCHS.

"I had no explanation that could make any of what she had experienced better," he said.

Andes said he and his family are not upset about the existence of Men's Week; however; he said the "narrow definition of manhood" is what's destructive.

"There are a myriad of ways that boys can be men, and very few of them involve great strength or physical contests of agility," Andes said. "None of that is being discussed or even hinted at ... All children need positive messages of respect from their leaders and advisers, and this does not get anywhere near that."

WCSD officials met with SCHS administrators Tuesday morning to "revise" the school's events to ensure all of its future activities are inclusive. In regard to many parents' negative reactions to the incident, Dunham said he doesn't blame them.

"(The posters) were inappropriate," Dunham said. "They were thoughtless, and there's no place for that. The hope is that you create events that are inclusive and build school spirit to bring people together. Obviously anything that doesn't do that has missed the mark."

SCHS Principal Warren Brooks sent an email to parents Tuesday afternoon, explaining the scheduled events for the remainder of the week have been "reviewed and revised to be all inclusive."

"The statements written on these posters were inappropriate, thoughtless and were not sanctioned by administration and the student body planning committee," Brooks wrote to parents. "We realize our mistake and are saddened at the course these events have taken."

He continued: "We are sensitive to the long-standing traditions of our school, but those traditions may not fit into our current society in the way that they used to be intended."

Dunham said he is unsure if disciplinary action is being taken against any SCHS administrator.

According to Dunham, the school district is taking a strict stand against these types of activities, particularly in light of cultural and societal impact, and it plans to speak with every school in the district to ensure other schools aren't scheduling similar events.

"People need to be more aware of what's happening in society before they choose an activity of this sort," Dunham said. "These types of activities are insensitive, and there's no place for them anymore."

Follow reporter Emily Havens on Twitter, @EmilyJHavens, and find her on Facebook at facebook.com/emilyjhavens. Call her at 435-6743-6214 or email her at ehavens@thespectrum.com.

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