Friday, February 23,

“Fuggedaboudit” Fallout – One More Stereotyping Victim

The ANNOTICO Report

 

See the extensive reportage on this matter published last November

 

Johnny Amoroso-Levato's parent's objected to a school play titled “Fuggedaboudit “ that had all the Italian Mob negative stereotypes.

 

The Principal and School District  Superintendent cavalierly spurned all concerns from local and national Italian American organizations.

 

Predictably, Johnny faced a "hostile" environment, so with assistance Johnny was transferred to a private school.

 

Script writer Matt Myers,nor Batavia School Superintendent Jack Barshinger responded to requests as to how they might react  to a school play titled "The Shylocks" with all the negative Jewish stereotypes.

 

The Schools supposedly "Preach" Tolerance and Sensitivity, and "Practice" Bigotry... ????

 

Our Respect to Johnny and his mom, Marina Amoroso-Levato, and the Order Sons of Italy that supported them.

 

 

Play Flap Leads to Site Swap

Kane County Chronicle

By Eric Schelkopf 

Thursday, February 22, 2007

BATAVIA , IL  The parents of a former Rotolo Middle School student, who objected to a controversial play, claim that a “hostile environment” prompted them to enroll him elsewhere.

Johnny Amoroso-Levato had been a seventh-grader at Rotolo, but left in November after the school allowed performances of “Fuggedaboudit” to go on, despite objections raised by the family, claiming that it stereotyped Italian-Americans, said officials with Order Sons of Italy in America.

Amoroso-Levato enrolled at Aurora Christian, a private school, in January.

He said, “Mom, I can’t go back,” said his mother, Marina. “I can’t go back to a school where there was such a wrong thing done.”

Batavia School Superintendent Jack Barshinger said the district did not hear any concerns from the family after the controversy.

Barshinger said Rotolo Principal Donald McKinney worked to make sure that the student was in a safe and secure environment.

“The environment was just the opposite of hostile,” Barshinger said.

Marina Amoroso-Levato did not specify any school-related incidents but said her son was harassed at December’s Celebration of Lights festival in downtown Batavia.

“Several kids were looking at him and laughing, and he pulled his hood over his head,” she said.

In an e-mail statement Wednesday, Order Sons of Italy in America officials explained the family’s decision to switch schools, while announcing that several Italian-American groups based in Chicago had collectively raised $5,000 to assist the family with tuition costs.

“They [the family] stood up to be counted, and they need help as a result of that,” said Dona De Sanctis, national deputy executive director for the Order Sons of Italy. “By standing up and protesting this, the family found itself in a situation where Johnny was not comfortable in school anymore.”

The play controversy was sparked when Marina Amoroso-Levato contacted Washington-based Order Sons of Italy in America after reading the script for “Fuggedaboudit” which was written by Rotolo drama and communication teacher Matt Myers.

The group said the play stereotyped Italian-Americans as gangsters. School officials disagreed, saying that the message of the play was to not judge a book by its cover.

The Order Sons of Italy went to federal court to seek an injunction to prevent the school from staging the play, but U.S. District Court Judge John Grady denied the request.

 

 

 

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