Student dons uniform after threats

Scranton Times-Tribune ^ | 9/11/2003 | Jeremy R. Cooke

[Born Conservative]

Student dons uniform after threats

By Jeremy R. Cooke TRIBUNE REGIONAL STAFF

09/11/2003

THROOP -- A Mid Valley High School student who was protesting the school district's new dress code was back in school Wednesday, wearing his uniform, after he heard rumored threats against him to comply with the standards.

Ninth-grader Ari Pavelich, 14, had been arriving at school out of uniform this month, only to be sent home by school administrators.

The student and his mother, Alyce Bernatovich of Olyphant, said they were protesting the "discriminatory" policy because it allows 12th-graders a dispensation from wearing uniforms this year.

Mid Valley School Board members said they approved the exemption to prevent seniors' families from having to purchase district-approved clothes for one year only, an argument Ms. Bernatovich said she doesn't buy.

The policy calls for students to wear only solid colors. Tops may be light blue, royal blue, navy or white. Bottoms must be khaki or navy dress pants and/or skorts or skirts for girls.

Ms. Bernatovich said her son decided to head back to school in compliance Tuesday, after he heard threatening rumors Monday. She said Ari heard some seniors were saying they would beat him up if the uniform policy were changed to include them this year.

"He's 14 years old. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to take on a bunch of seniors (if I were his age)," Ms. Bernatovich said.

Throop Police Officer Keith Jones said he responded to the harassment complaint and talked to school officials, but could not file any charges because of a lack of information. He said the case is still open.

Randy D. Parry, principal at the Mid Valley Secondary Center, said problems with the uniform policy are over for the moment.

"Everybody's in compliance," Mr. Parry said Wednesday.

But Ms. Bernatovich and her son may still face truancy charges for six of Ari's absences at a hearing at 10 a.m. Sept. 26 with District Justice John P. Pesota in Dickson City.

She said she has asked school officials if they will drop the charges now that Ari is back in classes and wearing the right clothing, but had not received a response. School officials at Mid Valley have said they do not discuss individual discipline cases in public.

[Born Conservative]

Here is a related post: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/975103/posts

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Using the boy to advance her agenda...

[ClearCase_guy]

Why follow rules? Rules are for suckers! My Mom agrees with me!

[ladylib]

You can bet they'll still press charges against the kid and his mother. They have to make an example of them.

Hey, I thought this woman was going to pull him out and home school him? Whatever happened to that idea?

[Bikers4Bush]

She's a liar and that was just a ploy.

[ladylib]

Well, she was stupid. She must have known that the school wasn't going to back down. Coercive government schools never do. There is no room for discussion ever, once a school administration makes up its mind about something. They have all the power in the world. The only "power" she has is to vote with her feet, and she should have done that if she was so upset about it.

She should have known that the school would charge her and her kid with truancy if he didn't show up in his uniform every day for school. The coercive government school is going to make an example out of both of them to keep anyone else who has an idea about bucking the uniform policy in line.

[Bikers4Bush]

Have you seen what some of these kids wear to school these days?

Uniforms aren't neccessarily a bad idea.

[ladylib]

They are if a parent doesn't want her kid to wear one.

[Born Conservative]

I think the term "uniform" is used loosely in this policy; in my opinion, this is an acceptable compromise for "both sides". It appears that the parents are not locked in to a specific uniform company, and have some leeway in the colors they can get. If the students were expected to buy from one specific company and only 1 color and style, then the people against uniforms would have an argument.

[mhking]

The coercive government school is going to make an example out of both of them to keep anyone else who has an idea about bucking the uniform policy in line.

So would have the "coercive private school."

There is a right and wrong way to comport yourself. If there is a dress code - and you know what it is; and you choose to violate it, for whatever reason, you must be willing to deal with the consequences.

That being said, it was obvious that this mother had her own personal agenda in play, and used her kid to further it.

[freeeee]

The policy calls for students to wear only solid colors. Tops may be light blue, royal blue, navy or white. Bottoms must be khaki or navy dress pants and/or skorts or skirts for girls.

Tried and true...

[Namyak]

It's amazing how small the world is... I graduated from Mid Valley recently, class of '02. I still have a pair of younger sisters that go there. My senior year, the rumour was in the air about the uniform policy going to be implemented.

Mid Valley is a small school, by small I mean there are under 700 students, 7-12th grade. The vast majority of the student body, I'd say about 95%, are generally upstanding people. We did have our thugs(no gangs though), we had our stoners, we had our inappropriately dressed individuals of the female persuassion, but the majority of the student body wasn't a problem.

Anywho, I must say I was against the uniform policy from the very beginning, for reasons I will explain. One of the justifications given for the uniform policy was that students were wearing "inappropriate" clothing to school, and to stop that they need to impose a uniform policy. However, we already had a dress code policy enumerated in the policy book that outlawed the inappropriate clothing in the first place. All a teacher had to do was deem that an article of clothing was inappropriate and the student would have to change it. If caught wearing it again, disciplinary action would be taken against them. This fact made the uniform policy redundant. But instead of enforcing the law already on the books, they decided to pass another, more drastic law. I chalk it up to laziness, or incompetence... knowing the school, probably incompetence.

The second reason given for the uniform policy was that it would remove the gap between the rich and poor students. The problem with that, it's such a small school that everyone knew everyone else. Even if you dressed everyone up in pink prom dresses, everyone would still know who was who, and what their financial situation was.

I guess to some it all up, I saw the uniform policy as being superfluous. No justification, besides the laziness of the faculty and their ineptiness in enforcing the existing dress code, but it's done now, and now my little sisters have to dress everyday in the same outfit, go to the school where everyone wears the same thing, and spend 7 hours a day where they're exactly like everyone else. I think that would be more damaging in the long run to a child's self-esteem, but then again I'm not an expert.

[ladylib]

I agree.

We need more school choice in the public schools so if a parent doesn't agree with school policy, she can choose another school that is more to her liking.

I don't know why she didn't sign her kid up for a virtual charter school if she was so upset. That wouldn't have cost her a dime.

[ladylib]

**I guess to some it all up, I saw the uniform policy as being superfluous. No justification, besides the laziness of the faculty and their ineptiness in enforcing the existing dress code, but it's done now, and now my little sisters have to dress everyday in the same outfit, go to the school where everyone wears the same thing, and spend 7 hours a day where they're exactly like everyone else. I think that would be more damaging in the long run to a child's self-esteem, but then again I'm not an expert.**

Hey, you get used to hanging if you hang long enough.

Do you have school-to-work programs at your school? I've read where schools that have those programs like kids to wear uniforms. Hillary Clintoon loves the idea of uniforms on public school kids. I drove past Sidwell Friends one day(the tony private school that Chelsea attended) and I didn't see kids wearing uniforms. Sidwell Friends probably
doesn't have a School-to-Work program either.

If your school didn't really have a problem with the dress code, I'd start to wonder.