Free Republic

SAN DIEGO — Steven Kiernan, 17, has two dreams: One is to become a Marine, and the other is to wear his Marine dress-blue uniform to his high school graduation. Kiernan is close to achieving the first. He has finished all but the final days of the grueling 12-week boot camp in San Diego. But his goal of wearing his uniform to Petaluma High School's graduation on June 11 appears thwarted. The principal of the Northern California school notified Kiernan's parents that school rules require that all graduates wear the traditional cap and gown. Jim Kiernan, Steven's father, plans to...

Last week, Petaluma High School senior Steven Kiernan completed the Crucible at Camp Pendleton, the 54-hour ultimate physical test that shapes Marine recruits. That was that last main hurdle for the 17-year-old who accelerated his high school education and attended boot camp to fulfill his dream of graduating with his high school class dressed in his Marine dress uniform. But if Kiernan wants to walk and receive his diploma at the June 11 commencement, he'll have to wear a cap and gown, just like everyone else, Principal Mike Simpson said Friday. "It's unfortunate this wasn't addressed before Steven left for...

Sagging pants, thongs, and "do-rags" are among the banned items on the new Louisiana Boardwalk's Code of Conduct and Dress, Bossier City Police Chief Mike Halphen announced Friday. Flanked by dozens of law enforcement officers, Halphen held a news conference at the Boardwalk to announce the policy which he says is aimed at maintaining the Boardwalk as a "family atmosphere." "There's not going to be any sagging pants, there's not going to be any 'do-rags', there's not going to be any cat-calling and there's not gonna be any cursing," Halphen said. "If ladies have their thongs showing, they're going to...

Two Mesquite teens were turned away from their senior prom last weekend, told by school officials that their dresses were too revealing. Natarra Allen and Brittni Brown say they are devastated because they had to miss the once-in-a-lifetime event. Mesquite school officials say they made it very clear what types of dresses are considered inappropriate. Horn High School even gave a PowerPoint presentation with examples

School Suspends Boy for Wearing Prom Dress - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 (05-11) 19:56 PDT Lake Geneva, Wis. (AP) -- A high school senior who thought it would be funny to wear a dress to his prom was ticketed $249 for disorderly conduct, suspended for three days and banned from his last track meet.

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — A high school senior who thought it would be funny to wear a dress to his prom was ticketed $249 for disorderly conduct, suspended for three days and banned from his last track meet. School district administrator Jim Gottinger said the discipline was for more than just the dress, noting Kerry Lofy (search), 18, was dancing in a sexually provocative manner at the prom, according to a police report. Lofy doubts that was the real reason he was disciplined Monday. "The whole night was that kind of dancing. They can't single me out and say, 'Oh...

MODESTO, Calif. -- Midriff-baring shirts, low-rise pants, pajamas and slippers will all be off limits this fall for thousands of student in Modesto. So, what will students wear? Several students that KCRA-TV in Sacramento talked with said they don't know what they will wear when the new dress code rules go into effect because almost everything in their closet does not comply with the dress code. Violating the dress code can draw a suspension. "I think it is ridiculous. Everywhere you shop, there is nothing to get," said student Ashley Taylor. Student Alexis Thompson said the new school rules will...

(CNSNews.com) - A junior at Fillmore Central High School near Buffalo, N.Y., has filed a federal lawsuit against his school district for ordering him to remove his pro-life T-shirt in violation of his free-speech rights. The Thomas More Law Center, a Michigan-based public interest law firm, and the American Catholic Lawyers Association are representing the student, Kevin Dibble, who was told by the school principal that the message on his T-shirt was offensive and therefore prohibited. The T-shirt read, "Abortion is Homicide. You will not silence my message. You will not mock my God. You will stop killing my generation....

Wednesday May 11, 2005 LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (AP) Kerry Lofy had no qualms about wearing a black, spaghetti-strap dress to his high school prom he thought it would be funny.Turns out, his school didn't.The 18-year-old senior was ticketed $249 for disorderly conduct, suspended from school for three days and told he must miss his last track meet.``Things got a little crazy,'' Lofy said.School district administrator Jim Gottinger said the discipline was for more than just the dress.According to a police report, a school police liaison officer saw Lofy dancing in a sexually provocative manner, including lying on another student on...

Boy suspended from school for wearing makeup and lipstick By Irma Lemus, Staff Writer SAN BERNARDINO - In what is shaping as a battle between conformity and self-expression, Pacific High School has suspended a ninth-grade boy for wearing lipstick and eye makeup. Officials are calling it a violation of school policy, which they seemed unable to find in writing... James Herndon, 16, repeating his second year at the school, and his mother, Valerie Wallace, say James has been wearing black lipstick and red eye makeup the entire time he has been enrolled at Pacific. He also wears his hair in...

Wiccan boy booted for wearing lipstick Student claiming discrimination, violation of free-expression right Posted: April 14, 20052:53 p.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com James Herndon, a practicing Wiccan, plans to return to class with makeup, (photo: San Bernadino Sun) A California high-school student who practices Wiccan beliefs says his rights have been violated after being suspended this week for wearing lipstick and makeup. "If I can't wear makeup, then the girls or the staff can't wear makeup either," 16-year-old James Herndon told the San Bernadino Sun, believing his constitutional right to free expression is being violated. He says the cosmetics help him express...

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- A ninth-grade student has accused officials at a Southern California high school of discrimination for suspending him for wearing lipstick and eye makeup. James Herndon, 16, said the five-day suspension imposed Monday by administrators at San Bernardino's Pacific High School was unfair because females are allowed to wear cosmetics on campus. "If I can't wear makeup," he said, "then the girls or the staff can't wear makeup." Herndon says his black lipstick and red eye makeup express the Wiccan religious beliefs he shares with his mother, a priestess in the neo-pagan faith. The suspension violates his...

Mont Pleasant Middle School in Schenectady, New York, is today’s liberal lunatic of the day, the first institution to receive the title.  Mont Pleasant qualified when school officials violated the constitutional rights of one of its students, twelve-year-old Raven Furbert. Raven Furbert was a typical student before she received a string-it-yourself bead kit for Christmas.  Her uncle, J.D. Barnes, a Police Officeir of 10 years, is serving in Iraq.  So she made a red, white and blue beaded necklace to express her patriotism and her support for the troops.  One Tuesday, In January, she wore the necklace to Mont...

SCOTS students have been banned from wearing the kilt to graduations at Cambridge University. Instead, men must wear the traditional English formal dress of a morning suit and white bow tie. The authorities at Cambridge have allowed undergraduates to wear national dress to ceremonies for decades. But now Scots have been told they can no longer wear kilts under their academic gowns. The move was sparked by the university proctors, officials who are responsible for student discipline. They claimed graduation ceremonies were being ruined by students wearing flamboyant national dress and insisted that an ancient dress code barring them should...

Judge found that the policy was “overly broad” and should not have prohibited Marine Corps creed. Fort Wayne Community Schools officials violated an Elmhurst High School student’s free-speech rights when they suspended him for wearing a T-shirt bearing the likeness of an M-16 rifle and the text of the Marine Corps creed, a federal court ruled Friday. The district suspended Nelson Griggs in March 2003 for violating a provision of the school dress code that prohibits students from wearing clothing depicting “symbols of violence.” Griggs, now a 17-year-old junior at Elmhurst, and his father, David, sued the school system in...

NEW YORK – They've been part of the American "uniform" for years, worn to casual restaurants, house parties, and some workplaces. But as jeans become more expensive, they are also becoming more ubiquitous, showing up everywhere from Midwestern churches to Broadway shows. Nothing is off limits, it seems. Or is it? Among those who buy high-priced, designer denim or who simply don jeans frequently - there's debate about where it's appropriate to wear them. The tug of war over jeans etiquette is particularly prevalent in New York City. Here, people tend to be more creative about their appearance, and are...

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. - County school officials are backing a principal's decision to bar a picture of a lesbian student dressed in a tuxedo from the high school yearbook. Sam Ward, principal of Fleming Island High School, said he pulled the senior class picture because Kelli Davis was wearing boy's clothes. His decision was debated Thursday at a Clay County school board meeting that drew 200 people, but the board took no action, and Superintendent David Owens said the decision will stand. Most of the 24 people who spoke at the meeting supported Kelli Davis. "This is not to...

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. -- After a spirited discussion over a photo of a girl wearing a tuxedo at Thursday's Clay County School Board meeting, the principal's decision to ban the picture from the Fleming Island High School yearbook stands. The banned photo of Kelli Davis. Kelli Davis, 18, had her senior class photo taken in a tuxedo top and bow-tie outfit provided for boys rather than the gown-like drape and pearls provided for girls. The school's principal decided it could not appear in the yearbook because she didn't follow the dress code. Kelli, a straight-A student with no discipline...

This is a copy of the reply I have recieved from the President of the Board of education of the school district that banned red, white and Blue beads that a young girl wore for her uncle in Iraq. Dear Mr. Marko: You are quite wrong. There are gangs in our community but not our schools, because we take a hard line on anything that remotely resembles gang activity. We have removed beads from a number of students, without regard to color. In fact, expressions of partriotism and support for our troops is not only permitted but encouraged. At Mt....

Colorful beads lead to court Student claims Schenectady school district cannot ban her red, white and blue necklace   By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer First published: Thursday, February 17, 2005 ALBANY -- A Mont Pleasant middle school student is taking her freedom-of-expression fight to federal court, claiming Schenectady school officials have no right to ban her from wearing a handmade red, white and blue necklace to class. The beads, which Raven Furbert got as a string-it-yourself Christmas gift, symbolize love of country and respect for soldiers serving in Iraq, according to the lawsuit her mother, Katie Grzywna, filed...