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View Full Version : Ohio Student Suspended for Growing Out Hair to Donate




aGameOfThrones
10-23-2012, 11:15 PM
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/U.9CPRelwrE8LpMhZF63VQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYwMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/590/2012/10/23/ht-zachary-aufderheide-locks-of-love-lpl-121022-wmain-jpg_042528.jpg


Zachary Aufderheide has run afoul of his Ohio high school's dress code because of his desire to grow his hair long enough to donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that provides wigs to needy children who've lost their hair because of medical problems.

Zachary, 17, of Canton is about an inch away from the 10 inches of hair he needs to donate to the organization. Faced with an ultimatum, the Canton South High School junior decided to accept an in-school suspension rather than cut his ponytail.

The minimum length of hair needed for a hairpiece is 10 inches, according the Locks of Love website.

She said her son went to a school board meeting in September, explained what he was doing and asked them to consider allowing him to reach his goal.

She said board members came up to him after the meeting and commended his efforts, but said the board had voted to uphold the school's dress code, without giving him an explanation.

Robin Aufderheide said she was surprised by the board's decision, but her son wasn't.

"I feel pretty disappointed with their decision because, honestly, I really put a lot of heart and soul into my demonstration, like, my presentation of the idea to them, and then when they just all unanimously voted against it … it was just kind of heartbreaking to me," he said.

According to the dress code in the Canton Local School District's student handbook, "Hair for male students shall be neat and clean and shall not be worn covering the eyes, in a ponytail, or extending beyond the bottom of the regular shirt collar."

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/ohio-student-suspended-growing-hair-donate-121458418--abc-news-topstories.html

thoughtomator
10-23-2012, 11:17 PM
may he slap them with a sexual discrimination lawsuit

fr33
10-24-2012, 12:32 AM
Squares.

GunnyFreedom
10-24-2012, 12:37 AM
Wow, really? This kinda blows my mind coming from a public school. A private school, sure. But a public school? I couldn't imagine. Maybe I'm just old, but we had nothing like this from public school when I went to high school 1988-1992

RickyJ
10-24-2012, 01:01 AM
I hope he can get his hair the right length before the someone tries to cut it while he is sleeping in class. :D

LibertyEagle
10-24-2012, 01:37 AM
Wow, really? This kinda blows my mind coming from a public school. A private school, sure. But a public school? I couldn't imagine. Maybe I'm just old, but we had nothing like this from public school when I went to high school 1988-1992

Ha ha, we did when I was in High School. They even measured how high your skirt was above your knees, as it was only allowed to be x inches. If it was more, they'd send you home.

AlexAmore
10-24-2012, 02:26 AM
They're doing him a favor. Less brainwashing.

HigherVision
10-24-2012, 02:35 AM
If the school system was private it would be a non-issue. They could have the dress code rules they wanted and if consumers decided that they were unreasonable the school would lose business or they'd have to change the code. But since it's a government school there isn't a clear answer except for the ultimate answer that we need to get rid of government schools.

Philhelm
10-24-2012, 06:52 AM
Whoa...It's for the children vs. It's for the children.

TonySutton
10-24-2012, 06:57 AM
Its for his own good, he might try to hang himself once his ponytail gets long enough...

:rolleyes:

angelatc
10-24-2012, 07:03 AM
Ha ha, we did when I was in High School. They even measured how high your skirt was above your knees, as it was only allowed to be x inches. If it was more, they'd send you home.

When I was in elementary, girls had to wear dresses, too. I remember walking to school in the winter, then pulling my pants off in the cloakroom to comply.

As for the OP...<shrugs>. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't have it in me to home school. This kid would probably be much better off there.

Kodaddy
10-24-2012, 07:14 AM
He'd better watch out for Mitt....

NCGOPer_for_Paul
10-24-2012, 07:19 AM
Ha ha, we did when I was in High School. They even measured how high your skirt was above your knees, as it was only allowed to be x inches. If it was more, they'd send you home.

Yeah, we had a dress code too, back from 1984-88, in New Jersey. There was a rule for girls, but it was seldom enforced, and only enforced ONCE in the entire four years I was there, and that was basically for the entire outfit and the way she walked the hall. If the girl did that today, she'd be locked up, and the male teachers who reacted to it would be labeled sex offenders.

For hair, there was no restriction on length of hair for guys. Heck, if there was every metalhead in school would have been suspended. Even a few football players for that matter.

asurfaholic
10-24-2012, 07:22 AM
Jeez, this is nuts. In some places it is not unusual for a guy to have long hair.. Hawaii comes to mind. What business does a school have in regulating hair length???

Sue those bastards

XNavyNuke
10-24-2012, 07:38 AM
I've donated twice. It's a great charity.

This young man should be homeschooled. Choosing not to play by their rules is the only proper response to zero tolerance policies.

XNN

opal
10-24-2012, 07:47 AM
What a load of crap.. kid's heart is in the right place. Maybe a bun would have been a better choice - didn't see mention of a bun in the rules.. just knot that pony tail right up above the collar.
Gender discrimination for sure.

I don't recall much in the way of a dress code at my highschool.. I think you pretty much had to be relatively clean and covered.. except for the gawd awful *gym suits* in PE class.. one piece green and white knit monstrosoties they were.. always looked like you were carrying a load in the back too.

TheGrinch
10-24-2012, 08:54 AM
Good for the kid. I hope his parents are as understanding as mine would have been to get suspended for doing what's right.

I have a long-time friend whose mom died from cancer (but met her goal of seeing all 3 sons graduate before she passed), and he's been doing this for years, growing it out, cutting it off and donating it... I've tried several times but always give up when it gets to the mullet stage and is unmanageable.

Utmost respect for those making life a little easier for those suffering through chemo.

GunnyFreedom
10-24-2012, 09:47 AM
Ha ha, we did when I was in High School. They even measured how high your skirt was above your knees, as it was only allowed to be x inches. If it was more, they'd send you home.


When I was in elementary, girls had to wear dresses, too. I remember walking to school in the winter, then pulling my pants off in the cloakroom to comply.

As for the OP...<shrugs>. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't have it in me to home school. This kid would probably be much better off there.


Yeah, we had a dress code too, back from 1984-88, in New Jersey. There was a rule for girls, but it was seldom enforced, and only enforced ONCE in the entire four years I was there, and that was basically for the entire outfit and the way she walked the hall. If the girl did that today, she'd be locked up, and the male teachers who reacted to it would be labeled sex offenders.

For hair, there was no restriction on length of hair for guys. Heck, if there was every metalhead in school would have been suspended. Even a few football players for that matter.

This. We did have an informal dress code sorta thing where (as far as I know) there was not an officially written policy, but if a girl showed way too much skin she'd be told to go home put clothes on and come back, but we never had an arbitrary dress code like this one.

So at my HS, if a girl came with a skirt that was halfway up her thighs she'd be sent home, but so would a boy wearing the same. In this case, I am pretty sure a girl could wear her hair that long and nobody would bat an eye. That's why this particular dress code seems arbitrary to me. It's not about dressing too revealing or being distracting, but what some bureaucrat somewhere thinks a boy should look like.

Like NCGOPer said, we had a lot of metalheads too 88-92 in Raleigh NC. 20%-25% of the male student body would have been sent home under this rule.

I mean, I get having a rule about girl's skirts being too short. Almost any male of the species who survived being 17 years old will understand that one. Talk about distracting from class...at 17 boys do not have the same kind of self discipline and control as we do at 30. No offense, but at 17 let a girl in a miniskirt pick up a pencil at the start of class, and half the class wouldn't hear a word the teacher said for the entire period.

ClydeCoulter
10-24-2012, 10:02 AM
It's like everyone has forgotten that laws should be for a reason, and that reason should be based on sound principle, liberty/freedom and the defense of such being the first. Law has become law unto itself and at the whim or kneejerk of the latest situation or the mobs preferences.

I let my hair grow mostly out of protest, although I have always felt more comfortable with it long and in a ponytail (sometimes down though, depends on the situation).

At the Repulican Committee meeting once, the Chair was talking about the democrat running against our state rep having long hair, beard and wearing sandels just as his eyes came upon me, he suddenly tried to backtrack and then just said, "oh well, too late now" :)