Should Michigan Schools Ban Clown Costumes?

It's Halloween! And that means that kids around West Michigan will be heading out to trick-or-treat (or trunk-or-treat) and get their sugar fix.

Most schools also have Halloween celebrations, but it seems that the rules for costumes are changing - at least at some schools here in West Michigan.

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I don't have kids, so I probably wouldn't be aware of this new rule that some West Michigan schools have implemented regarding costumes unless one of my friends hadn't posted about it on social media.

In a letter that went out to parents about the school's Halloween festivities, they laid out some rules about costumes.

• Kids aren't allowed to wear masks, face paint, or any item that may impede their vision or make it difficult for their identity to be determined.
• If there is any makeup or hair coloring involved in their costume, it must be applied at home.

Okay, those first two seem pretty reasonable. But it was the third thing listed that made me scratch my head a bit.

• Please avoid scary costumes, including any variance of a clown costume.

Wait... what? I get that schools don't want costumes that are overly scary or gory, but no clown costumes?

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I might be showing my age, but clown costumes were pretty common when I was a kid. Case in point, this photo of me and three of my friends from pre-school. (I'm the trash-bag witch on the right.)

I get it, the '80s were a different time, but have things really changed that much? It seems so. After my friend posted about this on social media, another friend chimed in saying that his child's school (a different school) had the same rule this year.

I understand that coulrophobia is a real thing, and there are people in this world who are terrified of clowns. But, is this taking things too far?

One commenter on my friend's post suggested that he should send his daughter to school dressed normally and wearing a sign that said, "I was going to dress up as the principal, but they said no clowns!" That seems... a little mean? Another commenter speculated that these are just the kinds of things that we are going to notice now and that maybe the narrative surrounding clowns has changed over the years.

Clowns were always murderous. Clowns were never okay. Bozo in shambles.

Another commenter suggested that this could be the result of something called the "uncanny valley", which I had never heard of. Turns out, this might be the most logical explanation. Essentially, this phenomenon is the unsettling feeling humans get when they encounter figures that are not-quite-human. I'll buy that.

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Either way, it looks like clown costumes may be a thing of the past in many Michigan schools. Do you think that schools should ban clown costumes?