Friday, March 9, 2007

   heres the article
Do clothes make the student?

Protesters take a stand for friend whose dress is deemed disruptive

By Maggie McDermott

Longmont - About 10 Longmont High School students gathered Thursday afternoon outside of the school to support fellow student John Paul Hix's decision to wear a skirt to class.

Hix, an openly gay 17-year-old senior, said Thursday that he was told to go home and change out of the skirt Wednesday afternoon because it was disruptive.

Deena Carlson, Hix's mother, said an assistant principal and a counselor called her Wednesday afternoon about her son's outfit and behavior, she said.

"They told me if he wears a dress, the whole school gets in an uproar," Carlson said.

John Poynton, spokesman for St. Vrain Valley School District, said he could not comment on individual disciplinary action.

"The expectation is that a student's behavior doesn't upset the classroom," Poynton said. "Students should behave in a responsible and respectful manner."

The dress code has a few specific bans - it doesn't prohibit male students from wearing women's clothing, for example - and it acknowledges that "students have a right to express themselves through dress and personal appearance."

But the code says "students shall not wear apparel that is deemed disruptive or potentially disruptive to the classroom environment or to the maintenance of a safe and orderly school."

Carlson said she agreed with school officials' decision to ask Hix to go home and change.

"He should leave his sexual preference at home and not flaunt it in public," Carlson said. "I'm just afraid of gay bashing."

On Wednesday, Hix wore a black turtleneck, a purple skirt, purple tights and black high heels, said Kristen Worthen, a friend of Hix's who organized Thursday's protest.

"People need to recognize that people are different," Worthen said. "We're all human. …Gay is not wrong."

This was not the first time Hix wore a skirt to school, he said, and being sent home did not deter him from wearing a dress Thursday.

"Why would a little thing like this stop me?" he said. "I hate conformity."

Hix said his biggest concern is the continued protection of civil rights and freedom of expression.

"When they send people home for what they wear, it's taking a step backward," he said.

The student protesters held up signs during their lunch break and chanted "Gay's not wrong" to passing cars on Warren Avenue. The students who decided to skip their last class moved the protest to Francis Street to reach a larger audience.
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