For Immediate Release: 10/27/00

Contact: Nina Crowley
Director, Mass Mic
nina@massmic.com
978-537-1669

Yesterday, October 26, 2000, the US Education and Justice departments released a study. Its findings: America’s schools are safe places. Schoolchildren are twice as likely to be victims of serious violent crime away from school. The percentage of children who reported they were victims of crime at school dropped from 10 percent in 1995 to 8 percent in 1999.

For those who before this study lacked the common sense to know that our kids are safer at school than on the streets, here finally is evidence. Those of us who knew that all along, hope that this will help bring an end to the hysterical overreaction that has gripped our schoolteachers and administrators over the past two years. Our schools are doing their best to ban individuality, creativity, and initiative.

Since the Columbine tragedy last year I have received too many emails from kids across this country wondering what is happening to their right to express themselves.

One young man from Forbush High School wrote to ask for help or for himself and friends. His principal was banning anything not "normal". (Using the principal’s definition of "normal".) First banned were unnatural hair colors (green, pink, and purple), then facial piercings, tongue rings, and recently spiked hair. All bans were done without parental notification. The penalty for infractions was not given, but this was not the case in Sheridan, Indiana where 16 year old cheerleader Erin was suspended from the cheerleading team for dying her blonde hair dark red. Erin and her Mom purchased Nutrisse "True Red" hair color at Wal-Mart and used it. The resulting color was deep red, not what they’d planned, but not "purple" as school officials interpreted it. Erin, an 8 year cheerleading veteran was suspended because school officials felt cheerleaders should be held to a higher standard as they represented the school.

This fall I heard from, Jack, a high school student from Marfa, Texas (pop. 2424) whose principal banned heavy metal band t-shirts or any item of clothing that was frayed, even slightly. And, Jack, while avoiding offending t-shirts when he dresses for school must also worry about what the other kids might be wearing. If two kids happen to arrive at school wearing the same shirt on any given day, or even identical colors, they are sent home to change for fear of "Gang Affiliation". Marfa High has less than 200 students so I guess it’s relatively easy for the principal to review everyone’s choice of colors. The irrational fear that a gang may spring up in one’s neighborhood at any moment caused a teenager in Lea County, NM to be arrested. Police felt his backwards baseball cap was a "gang symbol" and ordered him off the county fairgrounds. When he tried to reenter the fairgrounds later in the day he was arrested for "criminal trespass".

As for other spurts of individuality represented in one's clothing, Valdosta High School, in Georgia, and countless other schools, banned all "Goth" dress as it creates a disruption.

Cobb, Georgia McEachern High School recently banned any clothing bearing a confederate flag specifically by Dixie Outfitters (whose logo is apparently a confederate flag). Loganville High School, also in Georgia, followed suit and expanded the ban to include Malcom X symbols, hip-hop wear, and other images considered "provocative". Superintendent Arnet considers these items of dress "racial harassment".

Some schools have taken the anti-individuality theme to great heights. The 2000 Dress Code for Elliot Grant Middle School in Florida is thorough. Shirts: only solid colors blue, white, burgundy, khaki, or gray. Only polo type three button shirts, tucked in and with two buttons buttoned. Pants: only in the abovementioned colors with NO wide pockets, NO oversized, NO bell-bottom, NO flared legs, NO cargo, NO carpenter style NO loops, NO extra pockets, all neatly hemmed, NO cut pants. Sweatshirts only are allowed (no sweaters) and sweatshirts must be only of the same solid colors devoid of logos and must extend no further down than the top of the back pants pocket. Shoes are allowed as long as they are in the same solid colors and have heels of less than 1 inch. Elliot Grant also has restrictions on shoelace and belt colors. Only solid color jackets may be worn in those listed colors and may never be worn in the building.

The list of Disallowed Items is very long but some highlights include: "unusual hair styles, gang related items, JNCO or Dickie brands, or look-alikes thereof, unusual nail polish or glittery or sparkly makeup or (?) band-aids over the ear". The school includes a FAQ for parents with these explanations for this imponderable dress code. Mickey Mouse, Tigger, and some sports teams are gang affiliated. Sweaters are outlawed because the administration has to spend too much time determining what is a sweater i.e. wool, fleece, cotton. The reasoning behind solid colors and strict choice of only 5 colors: "Grant students can be easily identified by their solid color clothing thereby strangers stand out and can be escorted off campus quickly".

Eventually, the Grant students won’t need this extensive dress code because they will be easily recognizable by their zombie-like gait.

For entire report go to: http://www.massmic.com/mmicnews102700.htm

I have many more examples of the atrocities being committed against the spirit of our youth. Only four of those cited above are unverified emails from kids, the rest come from published newspaper and magazine articles or school publications. Anti-human, anti-individual, anti-creative, anti-kid hysteria is indeed running rampant through America’s educational system. Kids are being stifled and scared rather than educated. Although everyone’s heard it a million times, these kids are our future - too many people involved in educating our future have stopped listening. We need to educate leaders, thinkers, and doers, not robots. A government study has found that our schools are physically safe for kids; we must now make them mentally safe too.