MAPLEWOOD /SOUTH ORANGE — Columbia High School Principal Elizabeth Aaron chastised students over the loudspeaker Oct. 27 for their inappropriate behavior both at the CHS Homecoming football game on Oct. 24 and at a pep rally held earlier that day. Aaron’s words were also sent in letter form to the CHS community.
At the Oct. 24 home game against Nutley — which the Nutley Raiders won 28-26 — home team fans could be heard cheering against Nutley High School using an inappropriate four-letter word. Aaron also took her students to task for talking and being disrespectful as the CHS a cappella group Unaccompanied Minors performed the National Anthem. And, earlier that afternoon at a pep rally, students had selected an inappropriate song to be played without words as accompaniment to a sports team skit; the song, originally performed by Bobby Shmurda, uses the N-word in its title.
In her letter to the community, Aaron called the students’ use of curse words at the football game “appalling.”
“Any cheer that uses, in the case of Friday night, what I will call the ‘F-word,’ is a disgrace to Columbia High School. It is an embarrassment to our school and our two towns, and especially to our football coaching staff and every member of our football team,” Aaron wrote in the letter. “It was embarrassing for me not only as your principal, but also as a parent in our community, who had my own children with me at the game, to have to see them watch and hear such inappropriate behavior from Columbia High School students who should have been cheering for our team, not against Nutley.”
When asked how many students had participated in the inappropriate jeering, Aaron told the News-Record earlier this week via email: “It was a group of students large enough for us to notice it and for the opposing team and their fans to hear it.”
The Columbia Cougars and the Nutley Raiders are both members of the Super Essex Conference, a sporting conference that includes all Essex County schools.
When asked if there is a rivalry between the Cougars and the Raiders that could explain this behavior, CHS Athletic Director Larry Busichio told the News-Record earlier this week via email: “No more so than any of our SEC opponents, with whom we engage in fair play and good contests.”
“Well, we’re no Alabama-Auburn,” Nutley Athletic Director Joe Piro told the News-Record last week in a telephone interview, referring to the ongoing and often heated college football rivalry. According to Piro, the students are competitive, but that is to be expected when playing sports against any school, not just CHS.
Piro said that, while he was disappointed in the CHS fans’ behavior, you “can’t get wrapped up in it.”
“Sometimes kids use inappropriate comments — kids will be kids, boys will be boys, girls will be girls,” Piro said. “Sometimes this stuff happens. I mean, kids use bad judgment.”
Piro stressed that Nutley athletics has a good relationship with Columbia athletics, but that high school students often imitate behavior and, unfortunately, they see this sort of thing in college sports. Busichio agreed.
“Sadly, a quick Internet search of college and high school sports events, as well as those in the professional leagues, will yield quite an array of similar incidents,” Busichio said. “Recently, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association has established clear guidelines/expectation for fan conduct, and we are saddened that so many of our students chose to not follow those guidelines.”
According to its website, the Super Essex Conference’s spectator code of conduct includes: “Spectators will at all times respect officials, visiting coaches, players, cheerleaders and spectators as guests in the community and extend all courtesies to them”; “All spectators should practice good sportsmanship at all times”; and “Do not use obscene gestures, abusive remarks, or profane or unduly provocative language or actions towards officials, opponents or spectators.”
Piro said he would not be filing any complaints against CHS regarding the inappropriate behavior at the game. According to Piro, who is also the Super Essex Conference president, the SEC does have means to reprimand schools for inappropriate behavior through a controversies committee, and, in the event of a brawl, for example, the SEC could impose sanctions on the schools and even stop teams from entering tournaments. “But something like this wouldn’t make it that far,” Piro said.
Piro added that, had the inappropriate language been directed at certain player or coach, it would be a different story. Piro even joked that, “With some schools in our district, CHS would be doing nothing but paperwork for three days.” But Piro merely said he sees this as children behaving like children.
“Most importantly, we have a phenomenal relationship with Columbia. They are great people and great administrators,” Piro said. “Kids acting like kids is not going to jeopardize our relationship.”
He added that he has great respect for Aaron, as many administrators might turn a blind eye to such behavior.
“I commend her for turning around and saying, ‘This is conduct unbecoming of a Cougar,’” Piro said.
In her letter to the community, Aaron also scolded students for being disrespectful during the National Anthem.
“We were greatly disappointed at the choice that many of you made not to be quiet during the singing of our National Anthem,” Aaron wrote in the letter. “It was an absolute embarrassment to watch many of you be so rude during the performance of your classmates who were singing, and it was disrespectful to the marching band, our cheerleaders, and others present who were giving the American flag, our National Anthem, and our student performers their full attention.”
In her letter, Aaron also apologized for the inappropriate song choice during the pep rally.
“The lack of adult oversight regarding musical selections for the pep rally resulted in students using a song whose word choice and sentiments are not reflective of our standards,” Aaron wrote in the letter. “The title and lyrics sung have led students, parents, staff and community members to question our integrity and professionalism, as well as to question the decency of our student body.”
Aaron explained to the News-Record that the song was not performed, but was selected as musical accompaniment to a sports team’s skit, which are done to be a “fun and well-intentioned demonstration of school pride and spirit.” She explained that although the Student Council played a version of the song without lyrics, several students knew the inappropriate lyrics and began to sing along.
“We take pride in the oft-demonstrated abilities of our CHS students to make good decisions,” Aaron told the News-Record. “Clearly, the song used was a poor choice and this incident has resulted in a careful examination of how the pep rally is planned, and what role adult oversight by the Student Council advisers, our athletic/activities director, and myself will play going forward.”
Despite the seriousness of the misbehavior and lack of judgment shown by students on Oct. 24, Aaron believes that, going forward, students will be able to remember these errors and let them inform their future behavior.
“We are looking forward to our students making better choices,” Aaron told the News-Record.