I’m all for kids standing up for themselves, particularly in cases where they’re being railroaded. This kid, as of right now, is a hero to me:

The entire protest was Michael’s idea, his mother said.

“My husband and I did not approve of this,” she said. “We warned him that he would get into trouble. But he understood the ramifications.”

Laura Coviello said she spoke with schools Superintendent Joseph Luongo, who explained district policy.

Michael also met with Luongo and told the schools chief that “girls wear skirts, and their legs are exposed,” his mother said. “And Mr. Luongo said, if that’s the way you feel, then wear a skirt.”

So he did.

He went to a store at Bergen Mall and bought three skirts. With flowers on them.

The next day, he wore a kilt he had bought during a family vacation to Scotland. The day after that, he wore one of his new skirts.

On the third day, still in a skirt, Principal Peter O’Hare told Michael his clothing was disruptive, Laura Coviello said. He was given a note to bring home to his parents explaining that he was barred from wearing skirts.

That’s when Laura Coviello contacted the ACLU.

“If Michael wants to protest not being allowed to wear shorts, then he should have that right,” she said. “And now he shouldn’t be told not to wear skirts.”

After that, Michael wore his mechanics costume every day as a protest. His mother washed it every day after school, she said.

But last week, the Coviellos, an ACLU representative and school administrators crafted a compromise.

Michael still couldn’t wear shorts to school, but he could wear a skirt - just like female students - which is what Luongo had suggested in October.

Now, I know what you’re saying. Schools have a right to enforce a dress code and eliminate distractions from the learning environment, yadda yadda yadda. We get it. But why is this kid wearing shorts a distraction? And how is him wearing a damned skirt any less distracting?

That’s what I don’t get about this story.

Shorts aren’t a distraction on September 30th, but they are on October 1st? Give me a break.

Dress codes are nothing but a pain in the ass. In my company, there is a dress code. Good employees (me) follow it. Khakis, shoes, and a collared shirt every day except Friday when we can wear whatever the hell we want. But the women can pretty much wear whatever they want as long as they ain’t showing boob or ass, and unfortunately no one ever tells them they’re showing boob or ass. In most cases, the dress code isn’t enforced at all, and jeans and sneakers are regular occurences right along with shorts, and everything else.

To me, this dress code seems just as arbitrary. If a kid wants to freeze their ass off in shorts on November 30th, what’s the big deal? Let ‘em! If the girls are allowed to wear skirts, the guys should be allowed to wear shorts.

Or they can wear skirts too, as the case may be.

via The NJ Blog

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