Homecoming Friday

            This blog post goes back a couple weeks to the Friday of homecoming, which is the day of pep rally.  This issue regards my freedom of speech at school and its relation with the school dress code. On homecoming Friday, my friend and I wore rootsuits, which are full body spandex suits that have a mask part on the top so it can cover your face as well. You can easily take the mask part on and off. That Friday was class color day and as seniors, my friend and I wanted to go all out and show support for our class. We went out and bought these suits and walked into school that day together. Here is a link to see what these suits look like: http://www.rootsuit.com

            As my buddy and I went into school, we were immediately stopped by one of the deans and principle. We were told to take off the suits or get a detention. We talked about it and then the decision was made we needed to put shorts on over the suit and if the deans got any reports of us putting the mask part on during the day, we would have to take them off.  Even though this was pretty disappointing, I thought this was fair. I agree that you shouldn’t be allowed to wear something with a mask to school because it is distracting to school and potentially cause danger to others and myself.  On a day like this, many pictures are being taken throughout the school day, during and after class.  Would I really be that big of a deal to take some pictures with our suits fully zipped up? It really wasn’t that big of a deal because during class, I wouldn’t have the mask on because it would be hard to concentrate. After class, some teachers loved what I wore and actually asked and let me put up the mask to see what it looked like when I had it on. I was just upset that I had to worry about putting it up after class when people wanted to take pictures.            

            My friend and I followed the dean’s rules for the whole day, and the deans never got any reports about us breaking the rules or being disruptive. I actually talked to a different dean about wearing it to the pep rally and the football game later that night. He said, “ We just need to know who it is under the suit.”  It was time to go the pep rally and all of the seniors gathered together in one of the gyms so we could run in together.  Everybody was getting pumped up and making noise and the senior class was really getting excited. My friend and I decided we should put up our masks and because the day was over, it wouldn’t be a big deal if we ran into the gym and had our masks on for 5 seconds. As we ran as a class into the main gym, one of the deans was waiting for my friend and I and grabbed both of us. He made us take of the mask part and walk into the gym last. That really made me mad and I thought it was ridiculous because the school day was over and the dean who said he just needs to know who is under the suit saw my friend and I when the whole senior class was waiting to walk in together. After the pep rally, we talked to the deans and they wouldn’t let us wear them to the football game even though they knew who was under the suit and it was not during the school day so it was not distracting school. We learned that is a big factor from the Tinker v Des Moines case. There was nothing in the school handbook that talks about what I can’t wear after school hours to a school-sponsored event. There is no reason I shouldn’t have been able to wear my suit to the football game. All the administration talks about is getting people to the games and to cheer, but we try to have a little fun with that and they interfere with it.