# Boy Not Allowed to Wear His Star Wars Shirt in School,  When Will This Insanity Stop?



## SeaBreeze (Dec 14, 2015)

Good student not allowed to wear a Star Wars shirt in his school, good thing he wasn't eating a Pop Tart, they would've slammed him to the ground and cuffed him.  They're going to make these kids have an paranoid fear of guns, resent guns and be even more interested in guns than they would have been without these ridiculous reactions by the "adults" in charge.  Hopefully it's the latter, at least the child will think for himself and not be a shell of a human being.    More here. 








Friday, December 11, 2015 06:05PM
ROSENBERG, TX (KTRK) --

A 7th grader in Rosenberg says he was forced by school administrators to cover up his Star Wars t-shirt.

Joe Southern says his son, Colton, wore a shirt depicting the "Star Wars - The Force Awakens" logo, along with a Storm Trooper holding a weapon, to class Thursday at George Junior High School. He's apparently worn it to school several times before without any issue.

On Thursday, though, school officials told Colton the shirt was banned because it has a gun, or at least a picture of what in the movie is weapon.

"It's political correctness run amok. You're talking about a Star Wars t-shirt, a week before the biggest movie of the year comes out. It has nothing to do with guns or making a stand. It's just a Star Wars shirt," Southern said.

A spokesperson for Lamar Consolidated Independent School District says the LCISD secondary school handbook spells out potential violations of dress code. The list includes "symbols oriented toward violence."

Administrators say they did not reprimand the student, though they could have required him to change or assigned him in-school suspension. They say they only required him to zip up his jacket.

Southern says the incident, in his opinion, amounts to a violation of the first amendment. He says the weapon shown is fictional as is the character holding it and that any implication his son would hurt anyone would be incorrect.

"He's a Boy Scout, active in church, volunteers at Brazos Bend State Park. There's not a violent bone in his body. He's just an excited kid for the movie," said Southern.


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## SeaBreeze (Dec 14, 2015)




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## SifuPhil (Dec 14, 2015)

Unbelievable.


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## SeaBreeze (Dec 14, 2015)

Six year old in first grade gets suspended for shaping his fingers into a gun and now has a record on file that he was "threatening" another classmate.  If this isn't crazy, what is?  More here. 


*COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -*A Colorado Springs first-grader was suspended from school after pointing his fingers at a classmate in the shape of a gun.

Six-year-old Elijah goes to Stratton Meadows Elementary School. On Monday, he pointed at a classmate in the shape of a gun and said, "You're dead."

According to his behavior report, an administrator spoke with him about what being dead means and about not confusing "make-believe" or things in games with reality. And he received a one-day suspension for threats against peers.

"I know they have zero tolerance, but more of a maybe no recess," his dad, Austin Thurston said. "Going as far as a one-day suspension is a little extreme for a six-year-old in a first-grade class."

A spokesperson for Harrison School District 2, which Stratton Meadows is a part of, couldn't give specifics about the case, because it's part of the student's personal record. But she said school administrators feel they issued the appropriate disciplinary action.

She also said school staff speaks with students and parents before a suspension, and they consider current as well as previous behaviors.

Elijah has been at the school since January. His dad said while he had minor behavioral incidents in his previous school, this was the first time he got in trouble at Stratton Meadows.

"Of course I think he was playing," Thurston said. "What six-year-old doesn't play cops and robbers, or cowboys and Indians?"

Thurston said he and his wife have spoken with the boy about guns.

"We just told him there's a time and a place for everything, and we told him school is never a place for that. We let him know that the guns in the wrong hands will be very dangerous," he said. "He knows the difference between really doing that, and just putting your finger up and saying, 'boom you're dead.' We made sure he understands the severity of what he said."

Although the school didn't require it, Elijah is writing an apology letter to the school, stating he understands his actions.


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## SifuPhil (Dec 14, 2015)

To be honest, with his previous record, I would suspect this child has some issues ... still, suspension from first-grade for a day? What does that accomplish - he'll miss finger painting?

I notice how Fox said "two-day suspension", and the one newsman said that he was suspended for eating the pastry - I guess he overlooked that the child pointed it and, more disturbingly, said "You're dead".


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## Pappy (Dec 14, 2015)

I should have been expelled from school if eating the white paste out of the jar was a school crime. Not to mention most boys carried pocket knives, Yoyos and marbles to school. Very dangerous items, right? And some of the seniors even had a rifle on a rifle rack in their pick up trucks. Geez......


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## jujube (Dec 14, 2015)

I can't remember a single "recess" in elementary school when the girls weren't chasing each other around and the boys weren't shooting at each other with sticks.  So, we had bullying and gunplay and somehow most of us grew up just fine. 

I don't know where one would draw the line at which t-shirts are acceptable and which aren't.  My granddaughter's elementary school had the rule that t-shirts had to be plain.  You could wear the logo'd school shirt or a plain tshirt, but nothing else with pictures or printing.  I really liked the rule.  I bought her a bunch of school shirts and some plain colored ones and we didn't have a fight over what to wear.


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## Shalimar (Dec 14, 2015)

You know my stance on guns, but some of this stuff, really? With the exception of little Mr. You're dead, the kids would have no problem in Canadian schools.


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## BobF (Dec 14, 2015)

Whether in US or Canada the kid with the finger pointing and saying 'your dead' should not have been banned at all.   I would think that a short session with his teacher would have been enough to make sure he knows the school rules and then return to class.

Far too much of this hyper sensitive reaction to events these days.


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## Warrigal (Dec 14, 2015)

jujube said:


> I don't know where one would draw the line at which t-shirts are acceptable and which aren't.  My granddaughter's elementary school had the rule that t-shirts had to be plain.  You could wear the logo'd school shirt or a plain tshirt, but nothing else with pictures or printing.  I really liked the rule.  I bought her a bunch of school shirts and some plain colored ones and we didn't have a fight over what to wear.



Dress codes must be a nightmare for schools. We have school uniforms and disputes about length of skirts, hair styles, allowable jewellery items etc occasionally make the news.

I note that this family is very keen on Star Wars, as am I, and all things science fiction. I agree with the dad that the boy isn't violent but really, all he was asked to do was close his jacket. Is that really a headline situation? Dad should have taken it up with the school in a calm way.


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## SifuPhil (Dec 14, 2015)

Warrigal said:


> ... I agree with the dad that the boy isn't violent but really, all he was asked to do was close his jacket. Is that really a headline situation? Dad should have taken it up with the school in a calm way.



Totally agree.

Kid is probably spoiled and his dad a big-mouth.


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## fureverywhere (Dec 14, 2015)

We had cap guns and they were darn good fun. Even for us tree huggers things have gotten way out of hand...


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## WhatInThe (Dec 14, 2015)

This is why you older kids trying to get their college to change the name of buildings which are named after an actual person because they chose to associate it with something completely unassociated. 

http://news.yahoo.com/students-rename-building-called-lynch-ex-president-231758305.html

Should the Hollywood actress Janet Lynch have to change her name?

Children should not be subject to political statements of adult administrators for several reasons including that they will not always be in an environment where all the verbage, gestures, t shirts etc will be appeasing. Bans & punishment for petty stufffff at the youth level do not teach tolerance or patience.


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## Bobw235 (Dec 14, 2015)

True story.  First grade, the kid sitting behind me brought in live ammunition and we kids took great delight in playing with it in the pencil grooves on the desks.  Teacher never knew until some of us brought home the ammo and showed the bullets to our parents.    

I can recall back in those days wearing boy scout uniforms to school and of course, those included a pocket knife.  Every boy had a pocket knife.  Good times.


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## SeaBreeze (Dec 14, 2015)

BobF said:


> Whether in US or Canada the kid with the finger pointing and saying 'your dead' should not have been banned at all.   I would think that a short session with his teacher would have been enough to make sure he knows the school rules and then return to class.
> 
> Far too much of this hyper sensitive reaction to events these days.



Couldn't agree more Bob.  I used to play with toy guns, cap guns, etc. with my older brother and we had a lot of fun.  We'd shoot each other and if we didn't fall down and play dead, we'd remind each other 'you're dead'.   Many of our friends also played with toy guns, and made the finger motion too many times to mention.  None of us turned out to be criminals or wanted to really hurt each other, that's absurd.

There is far too much of this hyper-sensitive reaction to these small events these days.  These kids are going to walk around on eggshells, not ever being sure what they can or can't do, and what these 'adults' in charge will consider "normal".  Their natural personalities will be retarded, and never have the chance to develop properly.

 They'll become so anxious that they'll be put on mind altering prescription drugs in grade school for "ADHD", depression or anxiety.  Then, after years of changing prescriptions and raising doses, they'll suffer the side effects of wanting to commit homicide or suicide. 

 So when little Johnny goes beserk, and goes on a shooting spree, or blows his own head off, they'll look in his trusty school file and be shocked that he fashioned his fingers into a gun at the age of six, and probably should have been locked up as a child once the "signs" began to show.  Everyone will disregard the fact that his brain was messed up by over-prescribing of pharmaceuticals that alter the way he thought.

  Sorry, I think this is all sick, and our kids are going to suffer for this nonsensical reaction in the schools.  Whatever is going on these days, needs to stop.  When these kids grow up, they'll really be whacked out.  People are too paranoid and scared these days, all logic has gone out the window, IMO.


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## Warrigal (Dec 14, 2015)

Bobw235 said:


> True story.  First grade, the kid sitting behind me brought in live ammunition and we kids took great delight in playing with it in the pencil grooves on the desks.  Teacher never knew until some of us brought home the ammo and showed the bullets to our parents.
> 
> I can recall back in those days wearing boy scout uniforms to school and of course, those included a pocket knife.  Every boy had a pocket knife.  Good times.


Hard on the school furniture though.


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## SifuPhil (Dec 14, 2015)

Sea, while I'm basically in agreement with you on this, there might be another factor in play here. Literally.

Many kids today may have trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality, thanks to watching TV and Internet all day and playing _Call Of Duty_ for too many hours. Their world is a violent one, fueled no doubt by those meds, and they're more likely to respond to the world around them in a violent way.

As you said, as kids we got rid of our aggression through play with cap guns, sticks, etc. - because we never knew anything much more deadly. We were never exposed to that adult world of chain-guns and magical explosives, because it didn't exist at the time.

Just a thought ...


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## SeaBreeze (Dec 14, 2015)

I don't know about that Phil.  These kids seem pretty average to me and probably know the difference between fantasy and reality more than the adults involved.  I think the people in charge are reading too much into these things because they are overwhelmed themselves with fear and paranoia brought on by the blown-up drama of the breaking news headlines.  I really wasn't aggressive as a kid, I wasn't working anything out, just playing a game.


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## Warrigal (Dec 14, 2015)

I don't think the boy is at all dangerous and he wasn't treated as such. 

The trouble with rules like this one is that there is a continuum to consider. There are a lot of messages on Tee shirts that are offensive and that schools wouldn't want to see on their students, if nothing else, to preserve the reputation of the school as they come and go through the streets and on public transport. 

I would like to see how the ruling was worded  in its totality. The simplest ones are the best - like "only plain colours allowed" - but parents always argue for variations because they don't want to have to buy special clothing for school and they also want to be able to buy cheap  specials etc.

However, I well imagine that images from _Friday 13th _or _Kill Bill_ wouldn't be acceptable for the middle school. How do you make a rule that says _Rambo_ out, _Star Wars _in. You can't, so reference is made to images involving weapons. And then the problem begins because the definition "weapon" is a continuum too. Would a light sabre be OK? What about Robin Hood with his long bow? Not OK?

It's a minefield and once the media gets involved it becomes much worse.


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## fureverywhere (Dec 14, 2015)

My younger boy and I joke quite often about " G-d Mode", that is in a video game when you are invincible. Particularly as I'm teaching him to drive. No there is no G-d Mode here son, you better frickin' listen to me!!! But really it's about keeping them grounded. You are behind the wheel, the phone goes in the trunk. I am so serious. Bye the bye, I taught three others to drive before him...more meds pleeeeeze.


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## SeaBreeze (Dec 14, 2015)

Warrigal said:


> The trouble with rules like this one is that there is a continuum to consider. There are a lot of messages on Tee shirts that are offensive and that schools wouldn't want to see on their students, if nothing else, to preserve the reputation of the school as they come and go through the streets and on public transport.
> 
> I would like to see how the ruling was worded  in its totality.
> 
> ...




This is supposed to be the dress code violations/guidelines Warri.  I don't see anything a common tee shirt for a Star Wars movie would violate.

1. Any clothing or apparel that: is considered unsafe, dangerous, or a health hazard.

 contains offensive or obscene symbols, signs, slogans, or words regarding any gender, cultural,religious, or ethnic values.

 contains profanity or offensive words or symbols

 contains language or symbols oriented toward violence, sex, drugs, alcohol or tobacco, or any othersubstance prohibited under Policy FNCF (Local).

 is gang-related, which may include, but is not limited to: chains hair nets or bandanas monikers or other gang markings including

 notched eyebrows

 spiked rings, bracelets or long earrings

 jewelry or belt buckles with gang symbols dropped suspenders2. Article of clothing or grooming listed below including, but is not limited to:

 Bare midriffs or bare shoulders

 Leotards, Spandex, mesh or leggings unless paired with fingertip length attire

 Halter/crop tops, tank tops, sheer or see-through blouses, spaghetti straps Shorts or skirts less than fingertip length Tight or revealing clothing.

 Sagging, baggy pants

 Mouth piece for decorative purposes (grill)

 Hair must be neat, clean and well groomed

 Extremes in hair styles or length; mohawks, psychedelic colors; letters or designs shaved in the head

 Painted faces, tattoos, stick-on skin tattoos. All tattoos must be covered. Caps, hats, hoods, headgear, sunglasses

 Nose rings, visible body or facial piercing

 Earrings for males through the 8th grade

 Nail polish for males

 Bare feet

 Facial hair, males must be clean shaven during class time through eighth grade

 House shoes, pajamas, and blankets, pillows and stuffed animals

 Any combination of clothing that law enforcement agencies currently consider gang-related. (These may change during the school year.)A student whose clothing violates the dress code shall be assigned to in-school suspension either for the remainder of the day or until a parent or designee brings an acceptable change of clothing to the school.

“Repeated dress code offenses will result in more serious disciplinary action. Appropriate discipline proceduresshall be followed in all cases in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.” Policy FO (Local) gives thegeneral guidelines for discipline actions for the student code of conduct. 

Cheerleaders, drill team members and members of other performing groups are to remain dressed in proper attire during class time.


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## Warrigal (Dec 14, 2015)

Wow. So many words.

I can't see where a Star Wars storm trooper fits in there at all either.
It makes wearing school uniform sound much easier to administer.


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## SifuPhil (Dec 14, 2015)

> Earrings for males through the 8th grade



Because, as we all know, these are a terrorist threat against the American Way ...


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## Warrigal (Dec 15, 2015)

The trouble with having such detailed list of prohibitions is that the bush lawyers can go over them with a fine tooth comb looking for loopholes.

I just did and found nothing that would prevent the wearing of see through pants made from clear PVC. Or a velvet evening gown. Or false buck teeth.
Think up your own loophole and share.


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## Ralphy1 (Dec 15, 2015)

Common sense should prevail but unfortunately it is sometimes lacking.  Now, that white paste was sure tasty...


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