First-grade teacher who wore blackface to Halloween party under investigation by school board

A 32-year-old first-grade teacher from Iowa is reportedly being investigated for wearing blackface to a Halloween party. The teacher, identified as Megan Luloff, was dressed as LaFawnduh from Napoleon Dynamite for the occasion and was seen posing for pictures, wearing dark makeup in an effort to look African-American. 

Blackface is the practice of wearing makeup and costumes by non-black people to appear as a person of color. The practice, which is seen as disparaging stereotypes, is strongly criticized by the Aboriginal community, civil rights, and anti-discrimination groups and activists.

Reports state Luloff, who teaches at Walcott Elementary School, covered her face, arms, hands, and feet with dark makeup. She was also wearing a leopard print blouse, white pants, and heels to the party which was held at the Walcott American Legion on Friday night last week, according to the Daily Mail. The teacher was seen posing for pictures with other smiling partygoers who did not appear to see anything amiss with her controversial choice of costume.

Davenport School District Superintendent Art Tate, while talking to the Quad-City Times, condemned the incident and said that "Blackface is never appropriate in any circumstance by any person." Vice president of the district's school board, Linda Hayes, told the news outlet that the teacher's decision to do blackface, and also sharing pictures of it online, is harmful to the minority students studying at the school. 

"I cannot clearly articulate how offensive and appalling it is to people of color. In light of our recent developments within the district, this was in very poor taste, not to mention totally out of line with regard to professionalism," Hayes said.

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The Root

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A first-grade teacher at Walcott Elementary in Walcott, Iowa reportedly showed up to a Halloween party for the Grown & Stupid wearing blackface: https://trib.al/9Exs0Zv 

5:31 PM - Oct 25, 2018

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The school district also released a statement saying that it will come to a decision about the teacher's employment at the school once their investigation into the incident is complete. “The district strives to provide a quality education enriched by our diverse community, in a fair and supportive environment for all,” the statement read.

“The images run counter to the respect, values, and beliefs the district promotes and should not be a reflection on the District as a whole," The Root reported. “This situation is not taken lightly by any member of the board. The district will determine how to best address the matter after further investigation," the statement added.

The news of the incident comes after NBC host Megyn Kelly faced heavy criticism for her controversial remarks about blackface for a Halloween costume. Kelly had reportedly stated that it was "okay" for white people to wear blackface when she was growing up.

Married university gymnastics coach arrested after he was caught having sex with an 18-year-old student in a parked car

A university gymnastics coach was arrested for reportedly engaging in sexual intercourse with an 18-year-old team member in a parked car outside an apartment building. 39-year-old Scott Vetere and 18-year-old Sydney Blair Townsend were arrested on October 8 after they were caught having sex in a car outside an apartment complex in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Law enforcement authorities refused to go into further detail about the arrest and simply stated that the pair were engaged in a sex act.

That said, Vetere, a married father-of-three, was the teenager's gymnastics coach at the University of Michigan. Townsend, a member of the Canadian Senior National Gymnastics team, was arrested with her coach for indecent or obscene exposure and the duo are now facing 90 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted, Daily Mail reports.

Scott Vetere (University of Michigan)

A week after Vetere's arrest on October 15, he resigned from his job but has not addressed the allegations publicly as yet. According to the university, the gymnastics trainer was relieved of his duties two days before he put down his papers. However, they haven't confirmed whether Townsend would face disciplinary action.

Speaking to Daily Mail, a source claimed an investigation has been launched looking into Vetere's overall conduct. The freshman, on the other hand, is due to be arraigned on November 5. Vetere's next court appearance is scheduled for November 14 after he was arraigned on October 19. The coach was immediately suspended after his arrest, a spokesman for the University of Michigan told the outlet.

In a statement, a spokesman said: "Mr. Vetere was immediately suspended the day we learned about the incident (Oct. 10). He resigned from his position Oct. 15 during the disciplinary review process. We are confident this was an isolated incident and that with his departure, it will not be repeated. We do very thorough background searches for every employee here."

According to Vetere's professional profile, he is a former student of the university but has also trained multiple members of the US National Gymnastics team, including one "Olympian".

Back in 1999, he competed in the World Championship Team Trials for the US National Team and was also a substitute for the Olympic team in the 2000 trials. Having said that, the university claimed it had never received any complaints about Vetere's conduct until now.

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Museum To Replace Dr. Seuss Mural Amid Claims of Racial Depiction

A Massachusetts museum dedicated to Dr. Seuss says it will replace a mural featuring a Chinese character from one of his books after three authors said they would boycott an event due to the "jarring racial stereotype."

The mural features illustrations from the author's first children's book, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street."

Three children's authors declined an invitation to the museum's inaugural Children's Literature Festival, which was set for Oct. 14 before being canceled. After the museum offered to take down the mural, the authors said they would attend, but the museum has not said if the festival is back on.

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Authors Mo Willems, Mike Curato and Lisa Yee signed a letter and posted it to social media explaining why they take issue with the mural's depiction.

"We recently learned that a key component of this institution honoring Dr. Seuss features a mural depicting a scene from his first book, 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mullberry Street,' and within the selected art is a jarring racial stereotype of a Chinese man, who is depicted with chopsticks, a pointed hat and slanted slit eyes," the complaint reads. "We find this caricature of 'the Chinaman' deeply hurtful, and we have concerns about children's exposure to it." 

The museum, which is located in the author's hometown of Springfield, said Thursday that the mural will be replaced by images from later books.

"This is what Dr. Seuss would have wanted us to do. His later books, like 'The Sneetches' and 'Horton Hears a Who,' showed a great respect for fairness and diversity," a statemen from the Museum read, via MassLive. "Dr. Seuss would have loved to be a part of this dialogue for change. In fact, Ted Geisel himself said, 'It's not how you start that counts.  It's what you are at the finish.'"  

The image in question can be seen in the video below.

Adele Planning on Sitting Next To You In Class Receiving Lectures

With a long hiatus from touring on the horizon, Adele has started mapping out how she'll spend the time she's not using to focus on motherhood. Speaking to a crowd at her show in Boston last week, she reportedly said she intends to go back to school.
 "I'm desperate to go to university. I know that sounds ridiculous but it's one thing I really plan on doing," she revealed, according to the Sun. "I was about to start university in Liverpool in England and then I got offered a record deal, so I was like, 'Ugh, what do I do?'" she recalled before joking that she wouldn't mind landing a spot in the freshman class at a certain Ivy League institution. "I want to go and do a tour of Harvard but I don't want anyone thinking I'm smart enough to go to Harvard … I'm going to buy a T-shirt so I can sleep in a Harvard T-shirt." Gotta start somewhere!