John Taggart for News

 

One middle school group stirred up controversy when they visited Hooters on a class trip.

And it's not because they ate in a restaurant without crab cakes.

The Berwick Middle School students were visiting the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Inner Harbor when they split into groups for lunch. While there are many similarly priced options in the area, between 15 and 20 students ended up at the restaurant, which is as well known for its busty waitresses as its chicken wings, the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise reported.

So far, though, no one's had any complaints about the trip -- Superintendent Wayne Brookhart said none of the parents complained about the restaurant choice - though he did wish that they had chosen another spot to dine in.

On parenting websites, most commenters didn't seem to have a problem with the field trip's choice of food - with some even saying they took their kids their from time to time.

"We eat at Hooters at least once a month. What's amusing is to see those lovely ladies gaga over our kids and spend less time with the oogling manbeasts," one commenter wrote on Cafemom.com.  Another mom disagreed, though, saying that she disliked exposing her children to the stereotypes the restaurant invoked.

"Hooters perpetuates a problem: that only skinny women with big boobs can be attractive," she wrote. "They only hire women who fit a certain model and because of their hiring practices, not the uniform, I will not eat there.

"I would have a big problem with my daughters being taken there to eat."

The group is not the first school group to visit the controversial chain. In 2009, a veteran Arizona teacher was placed on leave after taking choral students to the restaurant while they were on a trip to perform at Arizona Center.

"There could have been a choice that might have been more appropriate, given that it was a school-day event with a school employee in charge," the school district spokesperson said at the time.

A Hooters spokesperson told the AP that the chain often hosts groups ranging from sports teams to church organizations with teens and young children.