{"id":238397,"date":"2025-02-13T22:11:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T22:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/13\/no-tubman-no-rainbows-defense-schools-prepared-for-hegseths-wife\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T22:11:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T22:11:42","slug":"no-tubman-no-rainbows-defense-schools-prepared-for-hegseths-wife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/13\/no-tubman-no-rainbows-defense-schools-prepared-for-hegseths-wife\/","title":{"rendered":"No Tubman, No Rainbows: Defense Schools Prepared for Hegseth\u2019s Wife"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/12\/multimedia\/12dc-HegsethSchool-vmcj\/12dc-HegsethSchool-vmcj-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"No Tubman, No Rainbows: Defense Schools Prepared for Hegseth\u2019s Wife\" title=\"No Tubman, No Rainbows: Defense Schools Prepared for Hegseth\u2019s Wife\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Harriet Tubman posters, origami paper cranes and rainbows have been disappearing from the halls of the American schools at NATO headquarters in Belgium, a response to the Trump administration\u2019s rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Teachers were worried that they would be seen as signs of Black, Japanese and gay culture \u2014 and thus run afoul of the new rules from Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the rush to comply with the administration\u2019s directives intensified this week, after educators learned that the wife of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth planned to visit their campus on Thursday, according to four people involved in the preparations for her visit, who all asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution, including job loss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While her husband met with NATO leaders, Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth was originally scheduled to visit several schools across the campus, which is part of the Department of Defense\u2019s education system and teaches students who are largely from U.S. military and NATO families. She ultimately trimmed down that schedule, visiting just the elementary school and a nearby Canadian school.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the mere expectation of her visit was enough to send educators scrambling to implement directives, according to the four people involved in the preparations \u2014 an example of how the flurry of decisions emanating from President Trump\u2019s Washington is sending ripples around the defense department\u2019s education system, and the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Changes had already been made in schools across the department\u2019s system. A Feb. 7 email sent by the department to instructors at its schools and seen by The New York Times put a halt to \u201ccultural observances,\u201d instructed teachers to drop pronouns from their email signatures, and offered a broad overview of which books to remove from classrooms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the past two weeks, the system has been <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dodea.edu\/news\/articles\/message-dr-narvaez-all-parents\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">vetting<\/a> its instructional materials and libraries to comply with President Trump\u2019s recent <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">executive<\/a> <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/fact-sheets\/2025\/01\/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-protects-civil-rights-and-merit-based-opportunity-by-ending-illegal-dei\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">orders<\/a> <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/restoring-americas-fighting-force\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">focused<\/a> on stamping out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from schools, federal programs and the military.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the NATO schools preparing for Mrs. Hegseth, in the town of Mons, Belgium, Black history month materials were scrapped. Art displays with even vague references to rainbows \u2014 a symbol of gay pride \u2014 were removed. A cart at the middle school library held books related to sexual identity and gender issues \u2014 including titles like \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Allies-Inspiring-stories-friendship-support\/dp\/0744039916\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Allies<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/20873172-gracefully-grayson\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Gracefully Grayson<\/a>\u201d \u2014 that were pulled from the shelves, based on a photo circulating among teachers and viewed by The New York Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But even as they swept classrooms and hallways to remove anything that might draw attention, there has been something administrators could not control: Faculty, parents and teachers who disagree with the government rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At a Defense Department middle school in Stuttgart, Germany, students <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2025\/02\/11\/hegseth-dei-protests-germany\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">walked out in protest<\/a> when the Hegseths visited earlier in the week, Jessica Tackaberry, the communications director for the department\u2019s education system in Europe, confirmed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Three of the people involved in the preparations for Mrs. Hegseth\u2019s subsequent visit to Mons pointed to a possible reason that her schedule changed so that she visited only the elementary school: She would be seeing only younger children, and stopping in at only a few classrooms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When asked why Mrs. Hegseth changed her schedule, Ms. Tackaberry said the decision to visit just the one school instead of several came \u201cdue to limited time,\u201d and was meant to allow Mrs. Hegseth to interact more meaningfully with the children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The schedule adjustment did not stem protest. A few dozen older students and parents gathered in a courtyard in the middle of the Mons campus on Thursday, a person who was there said, and a photo reviewed by The New York Times showed, in a demonstration of unhappiness with the recent measures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Asked about protests at the schools, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss aspects of Mr. Hegseth\u2019s trip said in an email that students may feel strongly about certain policies, and that the system respects their right to express themselves respectfully and in accordance with school guidelines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The official noted that Mr. Hegseth\u2019s wife is not involved in shaping policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Hegseth made waves in Europe this week when, speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/12\/world\/europe\/ukraine-war-hegseth-nato.html\" title=\"\">he said<\/a> that Mr. Trump expected Europe to bear more financial and military responsibility for Ukraine\u2019s defense in the war with Russia, and that a return to Ukraine\u2019s pre-2014 borders was \u201can unrealistic objective.\u201d He also suggested that Ukraine joining NATO was not a realistic outcome of a peace deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Thursday, Mr. Hegseth took part in a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On the Mons campus, educators have been trying to figure out how to comply with Mr. Trump\u2019s directives given that the schools had such a diverse and highly international student body, the people involved with Mrs. Hegseth\u2019s visit said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Librarians have been trying to figure out which books need to be removed from the shelves, mostly based on vague directives instructing them to remove materials that relate to gender identity or, as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dodea.edu\/news\/articles\/message-dr-narvaez-all-parents\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">administrators put it<\/a>, \u201cdiscriminatory equity ideology topics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And teachers have been taking down their Black history month displays and nixing plans for women\u2019s history month, after a Jan. 31 email from the acting under secretary for defense that said such celebrations \u201cdivide the force.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The email, reviewed by The New York Times, said the celebrations \u201cput one group ahead of another \u2014 erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/13\/world\/europe\/nato-school-dei-hegseth.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Harriet Tubman posters, origami paper cranes and rainbows have been disappearing from the halls of the American schools at NATO headquarters in Belgium, a response to the Trump administration\u2019s rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Teachers were worried that they would be seen as signs of Black, Japanese and gay culture \u2014 and thus [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/12\/multimedia\/12dc-HegsethSchool-vmcj\/12dc-HegsethSchool-vmcj-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27316,5663,185050,178604,163575,165135,4791,164732,185697,30138,163751,164733,23582,185696,10387,52,185695,163574,163486,942],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238399,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238397\/revisions\/238399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}