High school Homecoming Pep Assemblies are supposed to rally the students for the upcoming football game. They sure have changed since I was in high school, back in the Dark Ages. Hazard High School in Perry County, Kentucky is under fire for an assembly that featured cheerleaders as Hooters’ Girls and male students giving lap dances. Close your mouth.

Hazard, Kentucky is deep in my heart. I spent part of every summer at Big Mom’s house on Hemlock Street. Big Mom was my paternal great-grandmother. She, along with Big Dad, my grandparents Hazel and Albert Travis Holt, and many other relatives are buried in Englewood Cemetery in Hazard. If the Kentucky River hadn’t been in Big Mom’s backyard, you could have walked from her house to Hazard High School in about five minutes. If you have read Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, Breathitt County, where Vance’s family was from is about 30 miles northwest of Hazard, with similar problems. Although, Big Mom did not allow alcohol in her home.

One would think that an Appalachian high school in coal country would want to make sure the students were educated. One would be sorely disappointed. The population of Hazard is about 4700 and trending down. Here are the most recent statistics about the high school:

They have a great student/teacher ratio and a very good graduation rate. The students don’t seem prepared for the world with math and reading proficiency scores in the outhouse. The scores make the pep rally even more grotesque.

And this is what it looked like:

INSANE: Mayor of Hazard, KY who is also the principal of Hazard High School, held an assembly with a male pageant. The students came dressed in lingerie and gave lap dances to the staff. pic.twitter.com/ZxODWQWOsx

— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) October 27, 2021

Close your mouth. Yes, the high school principal is also the Mayor of Hazard. Donald “Happy” Mobelini is responsible for this, but he is not new to controversy. He is still under fire for a 2019 class trip:

According to court documents, the female student alleges that some of the students on the trip, who were juniors at the time, were in a single hotel room drinking alcohol. The young woman claims she was physically and sexually assaulted by a fellow male student when he walked her back to her room later that night. At no time did the two other teacher chaperones check on the students, despite noise coming from their rooms and in the hallway.

The following day, she reported the assault to principal Mobelini. The two other teaches made offensive comments, including “This was all her fault” and “She wasn’t telling the truth.” The female student alleges that at no time was she encouraged to see a doctor and was only given medical care once she returned home from the trip. She claims that a lack of adequate adult supervision on this trip led to her assault.

I wasn’t there, but I would not bet against the fact that teachers and chaperones were engaged in some shenanigans of their own.

At this year’s Homecoming pep rally, the school administration was fostering creativity. Close your mouth, that’s what school Superintendent Sandra Combs said:

First, I wish to address some questions around the incident. The activities were part of Homecoming festivities and were driven by the students. We strive to foster creativity in our students, but unfortunately, this time it was carried too far. Spirit Week at Hazard High School has a long and celebrated tradition. Homecoming activities were planned as a celebration for students, staff, and the school community. All were intended to be fun and good-natured however, the activities did not play out as intended. While Homecoming is an annual tradition, there has never been any issue raised prior to this year. Now that an issue has arisen, we are taking this opportunity to review policy and procedures to make certain that it does not happen again.

Well, her idea of fostering creativity is appropriate if you are training your students for strip clubs and Hooters restaurants. It’s not just that it went too far this time, it’s just the first time the school got called out. This tweet features a 2020 skit:

Hazard High School.
2020 Homecoming
Like a Virgin
And Mayor/Principal Happy is front row

But please, feel free to tell me I'm taking this outta context https://t.co/ScRbPzAZ2y pic.twitter.com/OtwW7nXD9m

— Nate Bryan (@NateInSports) October 28, 2021

To show just how low and how culpable parents are, at least one mother was not upset:

From The Blaze, here are the supportive mother’s words:

A mother vehemently defended a Kentucky high school’s “Man Pageant” in which students were photographed giving lap dances to staff members, including the principal — and also was annoyed that the homecoming event made the news in the first place.

“People don’t know how to keep their mouths shut,” the mom told reporters.

snip:

“It has been taken completely out of context,” Layne told the station. “There are only photos being shown on the internet, no videos. So, the photos don’t show … the teachers pushing the children off of them.”

She added to WLEX that pushing the limits and embarrassing teachers is part of the fun.

“If everybody is perfect, then I would say, ‘Yeah, maybe we do need to rethink something,'” Layne added to the station. “But until somebody can prove that something is going on here other than just homecoming week and teenagers being teenagers, then I will support my kids.”

This Mom is going to support those kids right into low paying, dead-end jobs because of the low reading and math comprehension scores.

Shame on Hazard and any other school that isn’t focused on reading and math. Reading and math are the keys to any kingdom.

The government school system cannot be saved. That is all. Over and out.

Featured Image: Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)