An area school district canceled plans Thursday, Oct. 1, for a fraternity-themed day intended to kick off Spirit Week.

The week, organized by Seneca Valley School District’s high school student council leading up to homecoming, was supposed to begin with “Frat Boy Friday” on Friday, before it was canceled by district administration.

“A message was immediately sent to students and staff informing them of the change,” said Ian Hunter, Seneca Valley’s communications director.

Each year, Spirit Week encourages students and staff wear themed outfits each day to come together as a community.

A Seneca Valley parent who found out about the frat theme on Thursday said her immediate reaction was shock and that she was upset the theme passed by district officials in light of the ongoing investigations into rape allegations at Cornell University.

The case, which alleges a gang rape by seven members of the university’s Chi Phi fraternity, has led to national discourse about Greek life culture and sexual violence.

“My stomach dropped,” said Erin Alexander, who has two children studying at the school. “I started to shake.”

Hunter said the district received just one parent complaint about the theme, but the decision to cancel was independent of the complaint.

“If one girl at Seneca is made to feel uncomfortable, then it absolutely should not have ever happened or been allowed to happen,” Alexander said.

After finding out about the Friday theme, Alexander said she reached out to administration to voice her concern, which she felt was downplayed.

While she acknowledged the themes are voted on by students, she said her concern was that staff and administration did not push back against the “inappropriate” frat theme for weeks.

“They canceled it yesterday but again, they’ve been advertising it for a week with posters all through the school,” said Alexander. “And canceling it the day before — what does that do?”