Another Attack on Dress Codes
Updated 14 March 2005: District Court rules in favor of student. Details at bottom of post.
Alan Newsome just finished his court battle with a settlement. Nathan Griggs is just starting his own very similar suit.
A 16-year-old Elmhurst High School sophomore and his father are suing Fort Wayne Community Schools over a dress code policy that saw the boy suspended for wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the likeness of an M-16 rifle and the text of the Marine Corps creed.
The shirt with the Marine Core creed (creed text shown at bottom of post) is a violation of the dress code (dress code shown at bottom of post) and nobody is arguing that. The problem is the dress code itself. Similar to the Virginia case, the dress code bars things like the State Seal as well as emblems from local sports teams.
This dress code is too broadly defined and this is where the problem surfaced. In an effort to define everything that could possibly be improper the code includes many items that it does not intend to. The best solution? There are two obvious ones. The better one would be to scale back the dress code and use common sense when enforcing it. Another would be to implement a uniform dress code.
My Rifle - The Creed of a United States Marine
by MGen William H. Rupertus, USMC Retired
(written following the attack on Pearl Harbor)This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will…
My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit…
My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my rifle clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will…
Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.
So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace!
Student Dress Code, from Elmhurst High School Student Rights and Responsibilities: Behavior Code
STUDENT DRESS: Students and parents are expected to display good judgment in making sure students� clothing is neat, clean, and appropriate for the classroom. Students are expected to wear shoes. Hats, sunglasses, and coats or jackets may not be worn inside the school building.
Inappropriate clothing or other attire that may disrupt the classroom is not allowed. Examples include shirts, sweatshirts, or other clothing with slogans, sayings, or messages that are solicitous, profane, obscene, or advertise such things as beer, illegal substances, etc.; baremidriff shirts or blouses, short shorts (if the school permits shorts to be worn), see-through clothing, and other improperly revealing apparel; apparel representative of or worn in a way to indicate gang affiliation; and/or apparel depicting derogatory or inflammatory racial, ethnic, religious slogans or symbols, or symbols of violence. Students who are dressed inappropriately will be asked to change or remove the offending article.
Individual schools may provide more specific guidelines, including consequences consistent with the Levels 1-4 Disciplinary Consequences listed above.
(Tip credit to Best of the Web)
UPDATE
School loses student dress code case
The court decision applauded the Board’s goal of fostering a safe and productive school environment but found they erred grossly in this instance.
Grigg’s shirt has no relation to the Board’s legitimate concerns about school violence, nor is it likely to disrupt the educational process. Thus, the Board’s ban on Grigg’s shirt cannot stand.
Magistrate Cosby found in favor of the Board regarding the policy itself. Grigg’s case included a complaint that the dress code prohibiting “apparel depicting…sybmols of violence” was too broadly worded. Cosby ruled that the dress code is “clearly within the confines allowed by the First Amendment”.
So in essence the policy was fine but it was applied poorly.
I agree with the closing paragraph accessing to cause of the problem being school barring images which were not intended to be barred when the dress code was written. However I have seen an anti armed forces sentiment displayed by school administrators and do feel as though that may have some to do with this. When I see our men in the armed forces I see power for freedom and democracy but I am afraid some see an evil country enforcing it’s will through the use of violence and tyranny. It is that view of our brave sons that most offends me.
I’ve seen this also, David. It is difficult for people who are in controlling positions to set aside their personal agendas and it is all too simple to discount the rights of children. Put those together and promulgation of bias becomes an unavoidable fact.
I know the USMC rifle creed by heart, having served in the Corps for thirteen years. I read through the school dress code and I wonder exactly which part they think this student violated. If they based it upon the “symbols of violence”, they are stretching things quite a bit. A rifle, in the hands of a Marine, is not inherently “violent”. It is a tool, just as a hose would be used by a fireman.
Heh. Almost didn’t see the update at the bottom, as I had not scrolled down that far. Glad to see the judge had a level head.
Hmm, Maybe the kid should have written the creed of the school resource officer. Do they have one? I know they carry guns around here.
“Hats, sunglasses, and coats or jackets may not be worn inside the school building.”
Well, there goes the idea of wearing a suit to the Prom. Or a yarmulke at any time. Or dark glasses for an eye problem. Can you say “unintended consequences” or “what, if anything, were they thinking?”
what do you do when one is sent to ISS for not wearing a belt? are thee childrend in school to learn or the dress code is more important?