The night before Halloween, two Big Sky students, Bryan Trimbo and Jeff Enockson, brainstormed costume ideas to wear to school the next day. The costumes they decided on were simple to make, just a few white sheets were necessary, but these costumes would create an uproar of reaction the next day.
Trimbo said, “We decided to be ghosts - we would twist it a little.”
Why would simple ghost costumes cause such a flurry? Trimbo said, “Everyone's interpretation was that we dressed up as the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). I guess I can't change people's interpretations.
“Students started yelling at us, saying that we should get beat up. I didn't think we did anything wrong. We dressed this way to push the envelope,” said Trimbo.
The costumes were inspired by ghost pictures Trimbo and Enockson found on the Internet. “If you look on the Internet at the ghost hats,
some of them are pointed. If I was trying to dress as the KKK, I would have worn an arm patch and a belt. The eye slits would have been shaped differently,” Trimbo said.
Many Big Sky students of color, such as senior Dez Rehling, did not interpret the costumes as ghost costumes, but rather as a symbol of racism. “When you see those costumes, you see the history behind it. I think he did the stunt as a statement, but it was ignorant that he thought it would pass as a joke.”
Trimbo said, “When we have Diversity Week and everyone dresses in rainbow colors, should everyone think they are trying to dress gay? That's ignorant. People shouldn't think that because we were dressed the way we were that we were being racist.”
Trimbo does not consider himself a racist. To him, the Confederate flag stickers on his truck stand for what he believes the Confederate flag has always stood for: “It stands for those against the oppressive government. Everyone sees the Confederate flag and thinks racism. Historically, it stands for a time when taxes were imposed on people and their slaves were being taken away. Race is only one part of it.”
As for his black classmates, Trimbo said, “When people of another ethnicity think their rights should come before mine, because they're a minority, I don't like people like that. It's fine that people see me as racist. I don't need to be friends with them or have them around.”
The event, which Trimbo says ended before school even began, caused discussion in classrooms for several days following Halloween. History teacher Kevin Ritchlin said, “The overwhelming feeling at the school was anger,” especially when Trimbo tried to pass the event off as a joke.
Chris Coburn said, “Myself and other black students, even students that aren't black, were really upset. He may say he wasn't dressed as the KKK, but anyone who knew him before this happened knows his intentions.”
Like Coburn, many students were shocked to see such costumes within their hallways. “People were offended because when they come to school, they don't expect to see racism,” Coburn said. “It's something most people have only ever seen on TV or in movies. This is the first time most students had ever seen something like this.”
Trimbo's and Enockson's costumes were taken away by Principal Paul Johnson; however the two students remained at school.
“If I was running around the school threatening people, I would take myself out of school, but I never said anything to anyone,” said Trimbo. “You can't punish someone based on others' interpretations.”
While still in costume, Trimbo said that no student of color asked him to remove the costume. “If (black students) had come up to me and said, 'I feel threatened,' I would have removed the costume. If that had happened, then I would have been breaking the law by staying in costume. I don't think that it would have made anyone feel afraid.”
On the other hand, from the perspective of a history teacher, Ritchlin said, “I would think the 'costume' serves as a historical symbol. It symbolizes the killing of blacks.”
Trimbo was surprised at the negative attention that resulted from his costume. “Everyone preaches tolerance but then this. It's pretty hypocritical of people,” he said.
That evening, a local news channel aired the story titled “Racism at Big Sky.” In response to the news, Trimbo said, “The news blew it out of proportion. They only told one side of the story, but if they want to see it like that, I can't change their opinion.”
Although the event has begun to fade away, Trimbo said that next year at Halloween he will consider keeping a low profile.
Senior Billie Loewen is editor in chief of the Sun Journal, Big Sky High School's newspaper.
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