School dress codes are not a new idea. Many of those guidelines include rules for hair, makeup and jewelry, as well as the clothing ensembles students don to head to class every day. In one Michigan high school, the rules regarding boys鈥 hair is very clear: 鈥淗air must be clean, neat, free of unnatural or distracting colors, off the collar, off the ears and out of the eyes.鈥 The rules also state that students who fail to follow the dress code may be subject to an out-of-school suspension. So why is one suspended student who refused to adhere to the dress code in this high school now receiving national support for his actions?
A Good Cause
The reason for his long hair is why people nationwide have come out in support of this seemingly rebellious teenager. J.T. Gaskin is a 17-year-old cancer survivor, who, until just recently, attended Madison Academy near Flint, Michigan. Gaskin is about to celebrate his final pediatric check-up for cancer, and he decided to commemorate the event by doing a good deed for a charity that helped him when he was a cancer patient. Gaskin decided to grow out his hair until it was long enough to cut and donate to Locks of Love 鈥 a charity that uses real human hair to create wigs for low-income cancer patients.
鈥淚 just want to give back to the charities that have given to me,鈥 Gaskin was reported to say in the New York Daily News.
Locks of Love requires hair to be at least 10 inches before it is cut for donation. Gaskin began growing his hair in December, inspired by the sister of a family friend who was also battling cancer. By January, Gaskin鈥檚 hair had grown past his collar. That was bad news for Gaskin鈥檚 school because now the high school senior was in blatant violation of the school鈥檚 dress code. On January 23, Madison Academy suspended Gaskin, after the teen refused to cut his hair and comply with the rules.
Pleading the Case
Three days into his suspension, Gaskin and his mother, Christa Plante, met with school board members to see what could be done to overturn the decision. According to a report at , Plante pleaded her son鈥檚 case and provided options that would allow Gaskin to continue working toward his cause and attending classes at the school. Some of their ideas included having Gaskin pull his hair away from his face or come up with a donation clause in the school dress code policy that would discourage other boys in the school from taking advantage of Gaskin鈥檚 allowance.
鈥淚 said, we can do it under guidelines 鈥 we can slick it back; we can put it in a ponytail when it鈥檚 long enough,鈥 Plante told USA Today. 鈥淭hey just flat-out said, 鈥榥o鈥.鈥
Despite the decision by the school board, Gaskin isn鈥檛 waffling on his decision. He is ready and willing to take whatever comes after refusing to comply with the school dress code. He also has the support of his mom 鈥 no matter what happens next.
鈥淗e鈥檚 done his research,鈥 Plante told ABC. 鈥淗e knows what he wants and why. I鈥檓 very proud of him. He鈥檚 fought for all these years and I think he deserves a little exception.鈥
No Waivers from the Board
The school board did not take Plante and Gaskin up on their offers, or see a reason to make an exception to the rules in this case. In a statement released by the school and reported by USA Today, Madison Academy stated, 鈥淓very student signed a pledge to follow this policy.鈥 The statement also explained that the policy is determined by faculty, administration and parents every summer.
The board also told USA Today that they offered Gaskin a compromise at the meeting 鈥 to style the hair away from his face 鈥 but the family did not agree. Members of the board also offered the option to transfer to another school or have Gaskin cut his hair and contribute to the charity in another way. Lauren Kukkamaa, the communication director for Locks of Love, told ABC there are numerous ways to support the organization, including volunteering or donating money.
ABC reports that Plante was 鈥渄umbfounded鈥 with the school鈥檚 decision. She told the station, 鈥淚 never thought that we would be here,鈥 and she is very concerned that Gaskin may miss part of his senior year of high school.
Still, Plante says Gaskin feels strongly about donating his hair to the cause. Gaskin told the , 鈥淪elf confidence is what you need to beat the disease.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 seen how it works and how it helped people, how it helped us,鈥 Plante added. 鈥淭his is for him. He wants to do it now. This feels right.鈥
The Suspension Goes Forward
At this point, Gaskin is doing his school work at home every day. His teachers send work home daily so Gaskin doesn鈥檛 fall behind, and Plante does her best to keep her son focused on his class studies. Gaskin is expected to get up early to begin his work, and no television or cell phone is allowed during school hours.
鈥淭his is not a free ride and this is not a vacation, and he understands that,鈥 Plante told ABC. 鈥淢ore adversity makes him stronger and more determined. The way that he鈥檚 handling it鈥t鈥檚 almost an education of its own, watching the way he鈥檚 handling the negative and positive that鈥檚 coming from this.鈥
A petition is now being circulated on Change.org to amend the current school dress code. At this time, more than 53,000 signatures have been added to the petition, according to the New York Daily News.
