Parkview Elementary in Reedsburg has a tradition called Wacky Week involving kids wearing costumes. The school encouraged boys to dress as girls and vice-versa for Friday's theme. A concerned Reedsburg area citizen contacted the Voice of Christian Youth America, a radio network, about the event. The VCY network broke into their programming, on nine Wisconsin stations, on Friday with a special report. Vic Eliason, Executive Director of the Milwaukee based VCY America, says this is not an isolated incident in that area.
"We found that this issue was not just an item dealing with Wacky Week, but that several years ago it happened twice in the high school."
After being flooded with hundreds of complaints, the school is not planning on repeating the cross dressing day, a decision Eliason is satisfied with. He emphasizes this is grassroots movement in which citizens were responsible with voicing their opposition, not the just the VCYAmerica network. Critics of the event believe the school may be promoting "alternative lifestyles." Eliason points out this is a public school funded by tax payers whose personal values may not align with the theme of the cross dressing day.
Wacky Week and its events were detailed ahead of time in fliers sent home with kids. It's estimated 40 percent of kids participated in Friday's dress up, with half of those dressing as the opposite gender and half as senior citizens.
