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Scarf Ban Lifted at NY School
Categories: Teens & tweens, Education
It is getting quite cold these days up in my neck of the woods. And speaking of necks, the best way to keep yours warm is by wrapping it in a woolly scarf. That is what students at Valley Central High School in Montgomery, New York did, until an overzealous administrator banned them on campus. The ban started a few weeks ago when a school administrator decided that one student's scarf looked like it might be a sign of gang support. I don't know how a scarf could send out that kind of signal, but when asked about it, the student insisted it was a fashion statement and nothing more. "We asked him, 'Why do you wear scarves?' And he said, 'Because they match my outfit!'" senior Brittney Michelle Smith said.
That sounds like a perfectly reasonable explanation to me. Pulling together your ensemble with a cute scarf is one of the things that makes having to wear winter clothes bearable. That and the boots, of course.
Some students protested the ban by wearing scarves to school anyway and were promptly written up for the offense. On Monday, the principal met with student leaders to discuss the situation and in a rare show of common sense, agreed to lift the ban. District Superintendent Richard Hooley acknowledges that limiting the the rights of the entire student body because of a few problem students wasn't the right thing to do.
It is refreshing to see a school authority figure admit a mistake and change course. I imagine that goes a long way in earning the respect of the students and therefore keeping the focus where it should be - on educating kids.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LS 11-19-2008 @ 10:16AM
I think schools should start ENCOURAGING kids to wear "gang colors". Gangs like red? Fine, everybody wear red ALL THE TIME. Take away the 'specialness' of the color. Don't let the gangs run things. Stand up to them. They are simply a bunch of bullies who continue to get their way because rules like these ("it's a gang color, therefore it's banned") give them credence.
Kudos to this principal for taking one small step toward common sense.
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Karen 11-19-2008 @ 2:35PM
And those thing scarves ARE a fashion statement rightnow. They aren't really worn for warmth. These are the thinner ones designed to wear with just about everything from a sweater to a t-shirt.
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c_rousseau05 11-19-2008 @ 4:15PM
Oh yeah, gang members look so scary in scarves.... haha! I think that's the LAST thing a gang member would wear, seriously. I crack up at the schools where I live making their kids wear khaki pants and white shirts (or school solid color of shirt) as a uniform. That is EXACTLY what the kids in the local juvi wear LOL! Also, it's what a lot of the gang members around here wear. Not to mention that some schools who may have black, red or blue as their school colors may be putting their kids in danger by forcing them to wear solid colors and limiting them to the white or school color. I'm surprised gang fights haven't busted out all over. Scarves, please lol!
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Heather 11-22-2008 @ 9:54PM
And was the school going planning on paying for all the antibiotics whent he kids come to school sick from not being allowed to wear an item of clothing that is needed for any normal winter on the east coast?
Good grief. I am glad someone saw the stupidity and got rid of that rule.
I agree take the specilness out of wearing gang colours and it loses it's meaning.
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