Chloe Nogreh
Writer '19
The first thought that pops up when people think of clowns, is a dressed up entertainer who comes to children’s birthday parties, makes animal balloons, and entertains the public. However, recently, there has been a clown epidemic spreading quickly around the country. There have been numerous clown sightings of people dressing up as “menacing” clowns, wandering around the neighborhood, and chasing people. As clowns are originally thought of as harmless, the new epidemic has changed a majority of the nation’s perception of them.
Clown incidents and threats in many areas have caused schools to go on lockdown. For example, multiple schools in Reading, Ohio were closed because of the rising concern for the safety of the students. This follows the incident where a woman in the proximity of an area claimed she was viciously attacked by a clown. Additionally, reported clown sightings prompted a lockout in two Long Island schools. For instance, North Babylon High School was among the schools that went on lockout because of clown related social media threats. Another Long Island school in Suffolk County, Lindenhurst Elementary School, made the decision to keep students inside during recess time because of a threat made by a clown account through Twitter, which claimed that Lindenhurst Elementary School would be the next targeted area.
This nationwide issue also had a large effect on Great Neck North High school as well. On Columbus Day, October 11, parents received an email regarding social media threats targeting the school, which prompt heightened alert of school security. Parents of elementary and middle school students received the email as well. The next day, October 12, students filed into their first period classes and received an announcement on the loudspeaker. The announcement stated that in order to ensure the safety of students, there will be a closed campus for the day. This meant that no students are allowed to leave the school during their free period to leave the campus or to go outside for lunch. The impact of these threats on the school community was disappointing, since many people enjoyed having the freedom of open campus during free periods. Not many other schools have the privilege granted to Great Neck North. Furthermore, the annually, greatly anticipated Halloween Parade taking place on Halloween was also affected by the clown pandemic. Flyers were hung around the school walls to notify the new addition of the restrictions on Halloween costumes. The flyers stated that clown costumes are not allowed, and if broken, will result in suspension. The history of how clowns evolved from the conception of fun to an impending issue in today's society is a riveting transformation.
Writer '19
The first thought that pops up when people think of clowns, is a dressed up entertainer who comes to children’s birthday parties, makes animal balloons, and entertains the public. However, recently, there has been a clown epidemic spreading quickly around the country. There have been numerous clown sightings of people dressing up as “menacing” clowns, wandering around the neighborhood, and chasing people. As clowns are originally thought of as harmless, the new epidemic has changed a majority of the nation’s perception of them.
Clown incidents and threats in many areas have caused schools to go on lockdown. For example, multiple schools in Reading, Ohio were closed because of the rising concern for the safety of the students. This follows the incident where a woman in the proximity of an area claimed she was viciously attacked by a clown. Additionally, reported clown sightings prompted a lockout in two Long Island schools. For instance, North Babylon High School was among the schools that went on lockout because of clown related social media threats. Another Long Island school in Suffolk County, Lindenhurst Elementary School, made the decision to keep students inside during recess time because of a threat made by a clown account through Twitter, which claimed that Lindenhurst Elementary School would be the next targeted area.
This nationwide issue also had a large effect on Great Neck North High school as well. On Columbus Day, October 11, parents received an email regarding social media threats targeting the school, which prompt heightened alert of school security. Parents of elementary and middle school students received the email as well. The next day, October 12, students filed into their first period classes and received an announcement on the loudspeaker. The announcement stated that in order to ensure the safety of students, there will be a closed campus for the day. This meant that no students are allowed to leave the school during their free period to leave the campus or to go outside for lunch. The impact of these threats on the school community was disappointing, since many people enjoyed having the freedom of open campus during free periods. Not many other schools have the privilege granted to Great Neck North. Furthermore, the annually, greatly anticipated Halloween Parade taking place on Halloween was also affected by the clown pandemic. Flyers were hung around the school walls to notify the new addition of the restrictions on Halloween costumes. The flyers stated that clown costumes are not allowed, and if broken, will result in suspension. The history of how clowns evolved from the conception of fun to an impending issue in today's society is a riveting transformation.