This may fly in Vancouver, but it certainly won't in most parts of Toronto.

whaaaaaaaaaa f'in whaaaaaaaaaaaa - so the girl has pink hair - i honestly doubt its REALLY hurting anybody (other than the uptight moral sensibilities of the administration)

as for the job arguement - who says she either needs or wants one - all she wants is to be able to go get her free education like everybody else.

at any rate - this school's assinine arguement is the same one used in my hometown for why pregnant girls should be expelled - their appearance was a distraction and it might influence other students to make babies. bull.shit.

i've gotta agree with the supporters here - it may be a little thing to stand up for - but at least she has an opinion about something and is willing to take a hit for it. can't really say the same about the rest of this apathetic generation...

Squirell:

Most schools in the U.S. have some form of dress code. Are you saying that it's okay for a kid to simply ignore the rules because they want to "self-express"?

Schools are for learning. Self expression may be fine in art class, drama, etc., but doing it in ways which intentionally violate school policy is breaking the rules.

The issue is not the pink hair -- the issue is that she feels entitled to not obey the rules. Do you think that all school dress codes ought to be optional?

Why not? There aren't any dresscodes at our typical State U's...at least not any strict ones. I think the only thing banned from my campus are t-shirts with "hate" messages.

When I went through rush, there were two girls with pink hair. One went to Theta, which at OU is considered "top tier" and conservative. The other went to Gamma Phi Beta, which is considered very conservative and middle to top tier. I don't have a clue how many greek girls and boys have piercings, but it seems like a lot.

I'd fight it. High school is a time to search and discover who you are, and if pink hair is part of that search so be it. Especially since there is nothing in the dress code about hair color.

You can find well paying jobs with any color hair you like. My boss, a vet, has blue hair at the moment. One of my exes is working as a CPA for a wall street trading company with a purple and blue skunk 'do.

Man, if only that woman had followed the rules and sat at the back of the bus.

It's a bad dye job and sorry to say, she looks like a complete slob in general. If she was fighting for something she spent tons of money to get done I'd be more inclined to back her up, but this just seems like a half assed Martha Dumptruck attempt to be with the cool kids.

I highly doubt Rosa Parks would like being African American compared to pink hair.

OH man, for real? She wouldn't like being African American? Instead of having pink hair?

I understand the "point" you're trying to make. I'm not saying African American = pink hair. I'm saying that people who are willing to challenge rules they consider unfair are pretty awesome and are more likely to contribute in a meaningful way to our society than people who just blindly follow the rules because they are rules.

Yes but institutionalized RACISM and discrimination do not equal "Mommy the school won't let me dye my hair :("

Sure, buck the system, but she's going to fail her classes.

Nobody here is saying that institutionalized racism is the same thing as not being allowed to attend school with pink hair. That would be like saying pink hair is like going to school in your underwear -- it makes NO sense.

Let's get something straight here, kids:

Schools are NOT intended to spawn "by-rote" automatons, NOR are they intended to prepare you for any sort of 'job' - there are plenty of trade/vocational schools available for that purpose.

Let me make that more clear for some of you:

If you want your kid to be prepared for the 'real job world' by a school, send him to a vocational school.

Since most of us here are elitist suburbanite assholes (I know I am), most of us also know that the very term "vocational" has a stigma attached to it - and sometimes rightly so, as it is where you place 'problem children' etc.

School is intended to educate children - to teach them the educational basics we have deemed necessary for everyday living. Let's stop this ivory tower garbage about "She'll fail in the real world so f- her!" - if the school's dress code does not allow pink hair because it may be a distraction, so be it. If you think that pink hair actually IS a distraction in a school, you're probably functionally retarded, but hey, you agree with the school, so be it - you can understand where the administration is coming from.

If you realize that "distraction" is NOT the reason why this student is being punished, and instead there is some sort of decorum utilized to 'prep for the real world' (as many of you have so kindly put it) or, more likely, in some vain or ill-conceived attempt to force homogeneity for disciplinary purposes, then you ALSO fully understand why the child wants to challenge the system.

As far as the mother supporting that, I say to each her own - the student can always learn lessons in school, and dropping back one quarter is not the end of the world. Greater wars have been fought over less, so march on, brave beat up bad-dye-job soldier.

The dresscode is unconstituntional. She has every right to defend herself, her choice of haircolor, and her overall personal by any means necesary

If I came to school with NAIL POLISH on, I would have been asked to remove it or go home. And my mother would have backed the school up. I would have been the dumb one for going to school inappropriately "attired". IF some kid wore a T-shirt that offended PinkHairedGirl I bet her mother would be the first one complaining.


Parenting people!

I don't know what vocational-technical schools are like in your neck of the woods, but ours certainly wasn't a problem child dumping ground. Quite a few of the kids who went there were very intelligent and could have easily excelled in the college prep curriculum - it simply wasn't what they wanted to do and their parents (thank God) weren't closed minded snobs who were going to force them to do it.

And while it prepared them to do a certain job, I don't think they were any more or less prepared for interviewing, what to wear at work etc than anyone else. I mean if you were in cosmetology you knew what to do in that field, but if you got out of it you were probably clueless.

I understood RC's point to be that your run-of-the-mill public schools aren't intended to prepare students for the "real job world," but vocational schools are. I'm sure he'll correct me if that isn't what he meant -- but FWIW, I agree with the statement.

No, its not.

School Boards can create dress codes at their own discretion....providing that the provisions of the code serve to increase or maintain educational instruction and to do away with anything that can be deemed distracting or obstructive to the educational process.

I might also add that our votech ran on a system where the kids went to their home school and votech on rotating weeks (I think it might be semesters now) - they didn't go solely to the votech, they were still part of the student body with the college prep and business students and everyone else. I know it's not like that everywhere.

At any rate - I don't know what it's like where this girl is going to school, but our school had choices for curricula other than college prep or votech. My point being that just because she isn't in votech, doesn't mean she's not going to come straight out of school and get a job.

This is exactly the kind of conversation I was trying to avoid.

My point is exactly as Valkyrie posted - vocational schools are specifically intended for 'job preparation' while non-vocational schools should not be saddled with such expectations, as they exist to educate students, not to get them jobs. To argue otherwise is to a.) bastardize education, which should be a more 'pure' exercise and b.) place too much burden on teachers/administrators.

I didn't say all greek systems eliminate things like dyed hair and earrings, but that is a function of some, and I wish it was a function of most. Not all though, because I still need people to laugh at.

So the kids at your vo-tech didn't have to take English or math or anything? I'm not trying to argue, I'm just curious.

School dress codes in general have been in the media a lot here since the Detroit Public schools is implementing a "uniform" beginning this school year.

I think that some of the rules for student dress codes make sense and others are just a control thing. The ones that have some real basis for them (like no halters, no mid drift showing, shorts/skirts having to be a certain length, no wallet chains) make sense and are OK. The ones that are simply control (no jeans, shirts must be tucked in with a belt, etc) are just ridiculous. I'm glad my kids go to a district where the rules make sense, or else I'd be right there fighting the school board. My kids would follow the rules, even though I'd be fighting those rules in the appropriate manner.

There are right ways and wrong ways to protest or fight things that are unfair. Cutting off your nose to spite your face by sitting in ISS day after day isn't the best way to protest. It only hurts her in the long run.

They did, but not on the same 'cycle' as everyone else - for instance, the algebra->geometry->trig->beyond cycle was converted into one unit for "practical math" . . . etc.

Also this is a massive derailing, PM me w/ any other questions.

wow - have you met this family? just wondering since you seem to have insight that i don't.

if she's willing to suffer the consequences for what she believes in/or wishes to wear - then i would say that poor parenting isn't the issue. unless you're saying that any person who can't just shut up and mindlessly follow stupid rules had crap for parenting...

Frankly, I think the fact that her parents are willing to let her screw up her education over a dumbass hair rule is a direct reflection on their parenting skills.

there are other things involved with an "education" than just one semester of high school grades - at least it gives her an interesting topic for an admissions essay

Seriously. I would be hella impressed with someone willing to take a stand for what she believes in like this -- much more so than I'd be impressed by kid who got good grades but never did anything interesting. Those are 10 for $1.

I wouldn't. I can think of countless numbers of people who have made good grades and did really interesting things......things that didn't include boycotting school because they couldn't shittily color their hair pink.

If she refuses to comply with the rules she isn't going to be going to school anywhere...not just for a semester. I don't know of any schools in the Dallas Fort Worth area that don't have dress codes and codes of conduct.....and she sure as hell wouldn't get away with it at a private school (or any that I know of in that area.)

I bet she could at Trinity Valley, to name one.

okay to all of the above arguements - but for crying out loud - ITS PINK HAIR! get over it!

I guess I'd feel different if I went to a school that allowed pink hair. But I didn't. It's not "mindlessly following rules" it's learning what battles to fight. Is crappily dyed pink hair worth a semester of F's? I mean sure an interesting admissions essay, but perhaps her choices of schools will shrink due to the grades.

In the grand scheme of things, pink hair is NOT such a big deal. While on one hand that could mean that the school shouldn't care so much, the parent should also be teaching the kid to pick her battles.

This sounds like a battle worth fighting though. You have to stand up for yourself, and learn to do that when you're young, otherwise people will walk all over you.


Besides, pink hair on girls is sexy.

If it was a personal, racial, something serious at ALL, insult- I'd say, hell yeah stand up. But it's a stupid fight, IMO.


She's going to learn that you have to accept the consequences. Those in favor of civil disobedience EXPECTED to go to jail for it. Just as she should expect to fail those classes...

It might well be an interesting essay, but it would probably also a useless one. I can just hear the admissions people now: "Oh, look at this. She made a crusade over not being able to dye her hair pink. Let's let her in here and see what she'll challenge us about."

I don't agree with that. I'm assuming that if she's the kind of girl that would dye her hair pink, she's not the kind who would be interested in going to a conservative private school. An admissions director at a very liberal school like Oberlin would look at an essay like that much more favorably than an admissions director at a traditional, conservative school like Washington & Lee would.

I agree to a point. But, I think most public schools would not look at it favorably either. The Oberlins are in the minority, I would imagine.

Of course, pink hair is also in the minority.

Schools like that are in the minority, but they do fulfill a niche. My best friend went to Oberlin and I went to visit her there for a weekend once. I'm a democrat and I'm fairly liberal. However, in between all of my polo shirts, my Coach bag, and the way that I was brought up vs. everyone there, you would've thought that I was more like Ann Coulter. Pink hair and rebelling against authority are pretty much the norm there. If nothing else, their admissions staff would read it and go "oh, another one."

Sure, and maybe she'll find a niche like that. But she still has to get through school first...