California Principal Suspended for Controversial Pep Rally Dance

A Cal­i­for­nia high school prin­ci­pal has been placed on admin­is­tra­tive leave after a video of him engag­ing in a seem­ing­ly inap­pro­pri­ate dance with the school’s mas­cot at a pep ral­ly went viral.

California Principal Suspended Amidst Controversy

Robert Nunes, the prin­ci­pal of Buhach Colony High School, was cap­tured on video rolling him­self toward the school’s Viking mas­cot in an office chair while the song “Pony” by R&B singer Gin­uwine played dur­ing the 40-sec­ond video at Fri­day’s rally. 

The dance seg­ment took a bizarre turn when Nunes fired off gold con­fet­ti at the mas­cot, who sec­onds before also appeared to be danc­ing provocatively.

Investigation Launched by School District

Nunes then stood up face to face with the mas­cot, trad­ing places in the office chair. 

He approached the mas­cot and appeared to place his hands on the char­ac­ter’s chest, slid­ing his hand down the cos­tume before being sur­round­ed by oth­er excit­ed stu­dents on the gym’s floor.

Nunes also shout­ed into a micro­phone, “What hap­pens at Buhach stays at Buhach,” a play on the infa­mous say­ing “What hap­pens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

The Merced Union High School Dis­trict has sus­pend­ed Nunes as they con­duct a “com­pre­hen­sive review of the situation.” 

The dis­tric­t’s Direc­tor of Com­mu­ni­ca­tions, Viviana Fuentes, stat­ed that the deci­sion was part of their “com­mit­ment to main­tain­ing a safe and respect­ful envi­ron­ment for all stu­dents and staff.”

Divided Reactions from Parents and Community

The prin­ci­pal’s behav­ior quick­ly began cir­cu­lat­ing across social media over the week­end, prompt­ing mixed reac­tions from par­ents and the community. 

While some expressed unease about Nunes’ actions, oth­ers believed the sus­pen­sion was a result of “can­cel cul­ture” and that the stu­dents enjoyed the pep rally.