Dear Senior Girls,

I apologize for being so upset on Wednesday, October 3, about wearing pink.  I unfortunately did not have the time, nor did I take the time, to research why you were doing it before I spoke to you.  Initially we were only going to address you about wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month without asking permission.  Literally two minutes before the assemblies, it came to my attention that it had something to do with Mean Girls.  When a girl was asked by a teacher why she was wearing pink, the answer was, “Mean Girls.”  This did not give us very much to go on, and I had to interrupt the assemblies to correct the association of wearing pink.  I now know that your intent was based on an anti-bullying message, which hopefully is the message that comes from the Mean Girls movie.  Your intentions were good and my reaction was very poor, and for that I apologize.  There is nothing I want more for John Carroll than to have all bullying and mean-girl tactics end forever.  It is an issue that the administration deals with frequently, and it is an issue that does not have any easy answers.  With social media, bullying has become a 24/7 problem.

Wearing pink on Wednesday boiled down to two issues:

1. This is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and wearing pink is associated with it.  The conflicting message being sent was unfortunate.  Actually if you all had asked me to do this for Breast Cancer Awareness, I would have probably said, “yes.”   As I said on Wednesday, breast cancer has touched my family way too many times, and I know it has touched your family and friends as well.  We are all sensitive to this.
2. No one asked permission.  All of this could have been avoided if folks had just asked permission.  I feel certain we could have come up with a compromise to address anti-bullying and address breast cancer awareness.

I truly believe in the mission of The John Carroll School that states, “…we cultivate in each student a love of learning, a respect for self and a sensitivity to others.”  I failed to uphold this mission on Wednesday because I was not sensitive to you.  For this I sincerely apologize and hope you will forgive me.  I am human and I make mistakes.  You have a right to expect more from your principal, and I will do my best to improve.   The Class of 2013 is awesome!  If we work together, this can be the best year imaginable!

Ms. Ball