*A South Dakota High School has allegedly threatened a Black student with expulsion if the doesn’t cut his dreadlocks.
According to the Argus Leader, O’Gorman High School administrators warned the parents of 14-year-old freshman Braxton Schafer that he must cut his hair or leave the school.
Braxton’s mother Toni Schafer told the publication that her son has been in the Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools system since sixth grade and his hair has not been an issue until now.
The current uniform policy specifies that boys’ hair length must be above the collar. Braxton’s hair is longer and his parents are defending his right to retain the length of his locks.
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O’Gorman High School administrators told 14-year-old freshman Braxton Schafer’s parents on Friday that he must cut his hair or leave the school.https://t.co/PWG13j3GIW
— ArgusLeader911 (@Argus911) August 28, 2022
“We don’t necessarily agree with the rule,” Derrick Schafer, Braxton’s father said. “We think it’s culturally biased.”
“Can students wear dreadlocks? Yes, they can,” Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools president Kyle Groos told the Argus Leader. “We simply want the length of the hair to be at the collar or right above the collar. Right there is what we ask for. To be clean, neat and well-cared for.”
Braxton is among about 20 male students asked to comply with the hair policy, according to Chloe Goldade, public information officer for the Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools system.
“Obviously, some people may or may not agree with (the policy),” Groos said. “But as for us as a Catholic school, we have our expectations as parents when they enroll, understanding what our handbook and what it expresses on dress code. It’s not like it hasn’t been reviewed.”
Toni said this situation has been very stressful for her son.
“It’s incredibly stressful, and he feels kind of like an outsider anyways, because when you’re one of very few (Black students), and I think he might be the only one there with locs, he’s devastated, basically,” Toni said. “He wanted to stay because he likes his friends.”
“It was always cultural,” Derrick said. “We were concerned with the timing of them bringing this up, because the school year had already started. When this was being discussed with us, it seemed like there were a lot of other opportunities to have that discussion.”
Toni noted that the length of the locks is “actually the important piece to the whole style.”
“It’s not the actual loc itself; it’s the length, and the strength, spirituality and power, it’s all in the length,” Toni said.
Administrators have been unmoved by the cultural significance of locks, so the parents requested that Braxton be allowed to finish the fall semester with his hair as is, and then he will transfer to another school.
“The problem is, it’s being arbitrarily applied,” Derrick said. “He’s been in the system for three years with the same length hair. We’re confused on why it’s become an issue now. Why? They’ve had plenty of chances to discuss it with us.”
“They’ve made it so we don’t have options,” Toni added.
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