Teen ordered to fix haircut by school

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - The celestial scene on Jay Cowell's head, "[is] for God and all the stuff he made on the earth." But Elizabeth City school officials didn't agree. The 8th grader at River Road Middle School was ordered to change his hair because the star shape is also a gang symbol. "It was a really nice design and they're going to make me take it out of my head," says Cowell. He was back at the barber Tuesday morning because school administrators said the star is a gang symbol. Barber Rondell Parker designed it with a very different meaning in mind. "His mom told me he's an A/B student, so I thought of something that could be in the sky for him, reaching for the sky." Sitting nearby, Jay's mom Natasha. The single mother says she was heartbroken when she spoke to the principal and superintendent. "The only thing they kept saying is 'we know Jay,' so we know what this means, so we're not suspending him, but he can't return until it's gone."

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I understand the schools resistance to gang inspired clothing/symbols but this is getting a little stupid. If I was to wear a Cowboys hat would I have to remove it? If I wore a red shirt would I have to remove it? Problem is you can claim just about anything is a gang symbol. Looking at this young mans haircut all I saw was a simple design, and he hardly looks the 'thug'. From the article it sounds like if he had been someone else he would have been suspended for this. What do you guys think is actually acceptable to ban from wearing to school? Obviously it changes in different areas so lets pretend a school in a bad neighborhood, middle of the city.

[edit on 7-1-2009 by Raustin]

Funny how the older you get the more conservative you get.
School isn't the place to make fashion statements.
If the student wants to reach for the stars, he can hang a picture at home.
Things like that are distracting to students. Then you will have kids comparing all sorts of things drawn on their heads.
Same reason for uniforms. It makes everyone equal and levels the playing field. The less affluent kids don't get depressed for being picked on about clothing, and you don't have kids distracting everyone with strange fashion.



Do I think a star is a gang symbol? Absolutely not. But it was used as an excuse. More like a symbol for the Dallas Cowboys.
I am sorry this kid has to shave a work of art off his head, but it would of grown out anyways, and maybe he should paint a picture, somethign more permenant.

And in the career worlds, he would not be able to get a job with a star on his head.

I am all for self expression. I don't want everyone to be clones. People should exhibit who they are. But there is a time for it, like the movies or the mall on the weekends. Even school dances.

jesus
theres millions dying around the world
and you make a post about something as trivial as this?

close this thread i say

now

If the law says my kid has no choice but to attend public school, and then they say i have no choice but to force my kid to CONFORM to retarded standards of everyone else

i do not consider that a free country

where someone can tell you "you must cut your hair"

thats fascism plain and simple

and DONT GIVE ME THAT "a school is not a democracy bla bla" BS

If the school is on AMERICAN SOIL the CONSTITUTION IS THE LAW !

Bottom Line

They have NO rights to say what you can Wear , or how you cut your hair.NONE!

Fascism! Hail Conforimity! Light up the Furnace!

just one more example of the petty and overly indoctrinated culture of the USA. Quite pathetic really.

We are such a HUNG UP culture.

Just sit back and eat your McDonalds and shut up people.

reply to post by muzzleflash


Also i must add its Directly Religious Discrimination.

He said the stars/moon represented his goal of "reaching for the stars"

Thats 100% spiritual and religious. Its religious discrimination. Sigh...

Originally posted by elliotuk90
jesus
theres millions dying around the world
and you make a post about something as trivial as this?

close this thread i say

now

No this is about FREEDOM in the "most free nation on earth" and its definatly important topic

If you do not protect freedom you will DEFINATLY see more dead bodies in the near future...

You dont get that???

Originally posted by nixie_nox

And in the career worlds, he would not be able to get a job with a star on his head.

Thats a bunk excuse

What law says I "HAVE" to get a "Career"???

What if i dont want one? What if Id rather NOT be a slave for someone elses profits?

I get so tired of that ignorance. What if i wanna just farm tomatos in my backyard for the rest of my life?

Who are you to say that kid has no choice but to be a slave? Your wrong.

Humans can easily survive without "careers", all you need is to get food and shelter covered and your good to go.

Otherwise how did Caveman exist? I bet he didnt have a McDonalds ...

While I think the haircut is pretty absurd, I worry that this kind of rule could theoretically be extended to ANY haircut a gang chooses to adopt. It's another case of where does it end for me. 'Well those damn gangsters wear Nike, no more Nike!" That may be a bad example... No Nike might be a good thing.

I agree that schoolkids should all wear a uniform. It would save parents money and limit issues like this. I always felt bad for the poor kids when they got made fun of.

Eliotuk: You complain I took the time to post this, yet you take the time to whine? I'll post what I please and don't need you telling me I'm a bad person for it. I wanted a little break from all the doom and gloom, sue me.

this isn't really that shocking...they do this all the time to kids..

heck when i went to grade school over a decade ago they would ban us from having "neon" colors and "sunglasses" which were somehow "gang" affiliated. Ironically the school was located in an area where there were very few gangs if any, you'd have to drive at least 40 minutes to get to a gang infested area, and even then those people do not wear NEON as a gang color.
It was insane. Its all about how much they can control.

so stupid!
controlling someone's hair for having a "star" or whatever is also stupid. A person should be allowed to do whatever they want to with their hair, unless of course it poses a health threat or they are in bootcamp (which they cut it so it doesn't pose a health threat or get caught on things and lead to injury)..

come on!

let the kid have his star head..

i had "m.c. hammer" lines on the side of my head back in 6th grade. coool!!! the school admins thought it was "neat" and never once told me to get rid of it. my, my.. how times have changed.. i wish i could go back to 1982 - I would take state!

reply to post by mingxin


It really isn't shocking, but I think it's a problem. They really banned neon? I'm waiting for them to ban blue jeans and white t-shirts.

I think this stuff should be taken on more a case by case basis. This kid obviously isn't touting gang affiliation, so why punish him? A star is such a common symbol the whole thing seems ridiculous.

Schools have dress codes and use them to prevent friction and establish order. This is an example. It doesn't really have anything to do with "freedom" of any sort. Children do not enjoy the freedoms of adults because they are.....children. They can't legally vote, drive, own a handgun, or get a job. They go to school, stand in lines, learn lessons, and obey school rules even if the parents disagree.

Life is tough, but this isn't an example. The parents should have read the dress code before the kid had his haircut.

Originally posted by pteridine
Children do not enjoy the freedoms of adults because they are.....children. They can't legally vote, drive, own a handgun, or get a job.

I disagree here.

Voting is a privledge.
Driving is a privledge.
Getting a job is *usually* forced slavery.

Owning a gun tho? Thats a right but, as far as I can tell, its becoming a "privledge".

Rights are Free Speech, Religious Freedom , etc

And yes ALL humans of ALL ages are afforded those Rights.

This kids haircut fits under Religious Freedom IMO. Because it represents his spiritual goal in life. "To reach for the stars"

Well I dont see any problem with something like this unless it is in the extreme, to which at that point I would begin questioning the parents and how they are raising their kids.

Nothing wrong with some unique hair style, or clothing..as long as it properly covers those certian areas, and nothing wrong with making a fashion statement, providing it is not in such an extremitiy to be causing a distraction.

But lets get to the root of this. A school, be it a public school or private, is a place for learning, education, not for fashion shows and social statements. Just becasue some parents wanted to dress up in the extreme when they were in school and could not, doesnt mean they should give the green go ahead light to their kids.

Someone posted about the public school being just that, a public school. Well perhaps you should keep in mind that there are other students in that public school that might find extreme fashion or social statements offensive. Should their rights be ignored just becasue a few want to have everyone in the world look at them?

Schools have dress codes for a reason. It is not to thwart individuality, or expression. It is there to maintain a minimum of standard that anyone and everyone can easily abide to. Unlike how private schools have far more strict dress codes, the public school system is about the most liberal type for dress code. But again, when it gets extreme or the fashion/social statement is disruptive or offensive, then that becomes a problem that goes byond dress code rules.

All of this has nothing to do with individual rights, it has everything to do with complying to very simple dress codes so that the rights of all who attend are not offended upon.


Cheers!!!!

Can someone please post a picture???

Why make we poor, we media-obsessed busybodies go load up a ton of Java script and view a movie. IOW, this thread is worthless.

(teasing)




[edit on 1/7/2009 by Badge01]

All I can say to the Parents is welcome to government schools. If she wants her boy to be judged as an individual then she needs to get him out of government schools and into a private one or home schooling. The haircut was really cool, I liked it and think the barber should charge a little more for designs like that.



[edit on 1/7/2009 by Solarskye]

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Here ya go Badge01.

[edit on 1/7/2009 by Solarskye]

Thanks, SolarSkye...OMGZ, the poor kid doesn't have more than 1 microgram of hair total on his head if you shave him bald and weighed the stubble.

You can barely see the pattern.

If I were the kid, I'd shave my head...but wait, with such a close haircut how are they going to remedy this?

Finally, contrary to meddlesome Mothers and School boards everywhere who believe hair styles and cuts are permanent (or so you'd think)...hair...grows...back...

(I make a joke based on an old episode of 'Wife Swap' where the Grandmother/Mother upon seeing her child's hair cut by the 'other mother' exclaimed in a moment of panic 'but it's permaneni ' (no kidding))

I can see it now...the board bans him for shaving off his hair and going Kojak to comply with previous ruling. Or 'kid shows up with hat, school board bans him for that.

If it weren't so tragic, it'd be even funnier.

[edit on 1/7/2009 by Badge01]

I guess everyone on ATS is in a gang, because all of our posts have stars at the top of them. And ATS must be associated with the Crips for having a blue background.