School Talks Tuah Student About Controversial Halloween Costume

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Arty P ’27 only had two ideas for his 2024 Halloween costume. He was either going to dress up as a pimp or as the “Hawk Tuah” girl. His mother, who works with sexual abuse victims, talked him out of dressing as a pimp. At 10:30 am on October 31st, Arty was asked to go to Assistant Head of School and High School Director Marc Alongi’s office to talk about his outfit.

Incidents involving inappropriate Halloween costumes are rare at Sequoyah, according to Alongi. Most Halloween dress code violations are just for dressing up like a teacher or student without their consent. Halloween costumes lead to discussions about what is and isn’t appropriate at school, and Alongi is grateful for that opportunity. “It helps people become a little bit more clear about messaging and symbols and how we communicate with each other in society,” he said.

Arty wasn’t sure whether he’d get dress-coded for dressing up as Haliey Welch, who went viral in July when she answered a street interviewer on YouTube with a description of intimate relations that included the colorful phrase “Hawk Tuah.” Struggling with his decision, Arty trusted his instincts and asked ChatGPT. ChatGPT said that he had a 70% chance of getting dress-coded. Before he made his final decision, he asked two human people– his tutor and his brother’s tutor. “One of them said I would, one of ’em said I wouldn’t… I thought it would be funny, so I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to still wear it.’” On October 31st, Arty came to school wearing a cowboy hat and a pink jumpsuit with the phrases “Hawk Tuah,” “lubrication expert,” and “spit on that thing.” The costume is sold by Spirit Halloween for $49.99 and is officially licensed by Haliey Welch. I asked Haliey Welch via Instagram what her thoughts on the incident were; at the time this article was published, she had not replied to a request for comment.

When Arty showed up to school he was surprised by the lack of reaction he was getting. “I thought it was kinda funny but no teachers or students especially cared.” As Arty was leaving his advisory, a teacher stopped him and brought him to Alongi’s office. When I asked him which teacher brought him in he said, “I’m not naming names.”

Sean Hamidi, Dean of Students and Academics, and Alongi met with Arty in their office. Alongi, Hamidi, and Arty talked about the costume until it became apparent that Alongi didn’t know what “Hawk Tuah” was. When The Barefoot Times asked Alongi if he knew what Hawk Tuah was before the meeting, he said, “Not really… I needed some help.”

The administration made Arty explain it. This alone was punishment enough for Arty. Sweating and clenching his teeth, he wondered how he would explain “Hawk Tuah” to the High School Director, Alongi, without getting himself into further trouble. “I gave my best attempt, but then Sean gave him a small explanation… I was trying to dance around actually saying what it meant.” Hamidi didn’t describe it in much detail, “but he got the point across,” Arty said.

Alongi and Hamidi made the decision not to give Arty an infraction. “There was a long discussion, but the major thing I think is we thought maybe it doesn’t directly violate anything. But at the same time, it could offend people,” said Arty. Hamidi and Alongi asked Arty what he thought should be done and Arty ultimately decided to change. Arty was seen later that day wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

Two weeks later, Arty communicated with this Barefoot Times staff writer over text, sharing his reflections on the incident: