A 17-year-old student was suspended from a Texas high school after reportedly breaching the dress code by wearing nail polish.
Trevor Wilkinson describes himself as ‘gay’ and he is ‘beyond proud’ of who he is. His story quickly went viral online and a petition he started to change the school policy gained over 360,000 supporters.
In a powerful speech to the school board, the Clyde High School student said: “This isn’t about me anymore. It’s about a discriminatory, sexist policy that needs to be changed.”
Trevor continued: “Why is it against dress code for a man to be comfortable with his masculinity and defy the gender norms society has imposed on us?
“Why is it harmful for me to wear nail polish? If it’s not harmful for girls to wear it, why is it harmful for males?
“We’re all supposed to be equal. Not having our freedom of expression suppressed, not having our voices not heard because grown-ups are taking three steps back instead of forward.”
However, his passionate speech did not change a thing.
Kenny Berry, the school’s superintendent, later issued a statement saying that the changes to the policy could only be taken into consideration during the school’s annual review.
“As set out in Board policy, Clyde CISD (Clyde Independent School District) believes students should attend school in a safe and supportive environment that promotes equality for all, and the District takes all appropriate measures to ensure its actions align with that policy,” the statement reads.
“While the District expects students to abide by established rules of conduct, the District is also always open to reconsidering policies or rules that do not reflect the District’s intentions.
“To that end, the District will conduct a thorough review of its dress code when it performs its annual review of the Student Handbook and, until that time, the District will assure that no student is treated in a discriminatory or inequitable manner.”
The statement adds: “Under federal and state law, the District cannot publicly comment on or discuss specific student matters.
“However, be assured that the District appreciates the feedback and input that has been recently received from members of the community.”
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Replaced!