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Headgear Rule Sucks

- By T.O.G. of Spookware (Dan Stevens)

Farrell -
Be warned, I didn't really have much to write about, so this gets a little repetetitive, and I get off the subject a bit towards the end. Feel free to copy this on to your site, and make any changes to it (including improvements to the text itself) that you see fit (such as removing this paragraph).

What's happened

Way back once upon a time (a few months ago) I started wearing my headband to keep my hair out of my face. That seemed reasonable enough. The first run-in with the authorities I remember this year was when whatsherface-police-lady told me to take off my headband.

"Why?", I said.

She said something about it being against rules, and I offered to point out the page in the student handbook which defined 'headgear', but she took me over to Kirkpatrick to argue about it instead.

The handbook defines headgear (head covering) as "anything designed to be worn over a large portion of one's head" (p20). I pointed out that my headband was not covering a large portion of my head, but they came up with some stupid arguement that "we don't let anyone wear them" - they're enforcing a rule that doesn't exist. Eventually, we decided that I could wear it as long as it didn't cover my forehead. I therefore tried to keep it off my forehead, but Mr. Hendrickson still wasn't happy, and made me take it off at lunch every day. I wore it as I normally did (across my forehead) after that, since I couldn't make him happy anyway (he was the only person who seemed to care), and it actually does do a better job of keeping my hair out of my face when worn that way than it does if I wear it across the top of my head.

Finally Mr. Hendrickson took me in to se Dr. Nash, who said that if I wore it not covering my forehead, then that was just fine.

I now wear it that way during lunch, and when passing through the halls. I'd really rather avoid contact with the admins.

The problem

Here are the things I find wrong with this whole situation, from least significant to most significant:

1. Why should it matter whether I wear it across my forehead or the top of my head? - This doesn't make sense. They told me that the thing had to be functional - the function being to keep my hair out of my face (that's descrimination against people with short hair! ;-) ). It performs it's function better when I wear it my way. And who am I hurting by wearing it a couple inches lower? Nobody's going to lose their job over this when the inspector comes, so why is this so important to them?
2. There is no rule that says I can't wear a headband - Look in the handbook (page 20). 'Head coverings' are not allowed, but my headband does not fit the definition of a head covering. It's not a rule that I can't wear my headband - the only reason they enforce it is because that's what they've always done.
3. The rule against headgear is flawed - The whole rule that a person can't wear head coverings is pointless. Supposedly it prevents gang activity. Right. If someone really wants to show off what gang they're in, there are a thousand ways they can do so without wearing a hat. (Actually, Mr. Hartman tells me people aren't allowed to roll up a single pant leg, though this isn't in the handbook...) Besides, there are already rules against violent activity, which is what they're really trying to prevent. Wearing a hat is not going to make you more likely to engage in gang-related activities, and not wearing a hat is not going to make you less likely to do so (honest!). Wearing a hat hurts nobody. The rule only creates a hassle for both the people who have to follow it and the people who have to enforce it.

What you can do

Stupid rules were meant to be broken. I can ignore stupid rules, by I haven't the ambition to go to a board meeting and complain. I find that if I comply with the "keep it off yer forehead" 'rule' for the small amount of time that I'm around anyone who cares (Hartman/Hendrickson, about 10 seconds a day), that it really doesn't hurt me. Even if I had to wear it like that all day, it still works well enough that I wouldn't really mind. However, if a stupid rule does get in my way, I won't hesitate to break it (provided the penalty isn't too harsh, in which case I'll probably just leave).

If you see that something is not right, don't just sit idly by and hope for the best. Wear you're headgear. Complain at board meetings. Get Linux. Vote for Nader. Donate to PETA. Do something. (I think we should schedule a 'hat day'.)

The world would be a much better place if people would think for themselves rather than cave in to the establishment, whether that be the school district, the government, or corporations trying to brainwash you with exceedingly annoying television commercials. (If you find that a commercial insults your intelligence, don't buy the product!)

Farrell's site

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