Topic: Code of Conduct

Self-expression or Suspension? It’s all a matter of the color purple

By Christine Anne Piesyk | August 10, 2007 |

Who’s Who. Honor Roll. Beta Club. Good writer. Avid reader. Harry Potter junkie, with a sorting hat to prove it. Slightly eccentric with a hefty dash of charm and a wide smile. Freckles. Works at a local fast food place to support her new used car and pay insurance. Donated hair to Locks of Love. Listed on report cards as “a joy” to have in the classroom. So why is 17-year-old Rochelle LaPlante about to be suspended on her second day as a senior at Northeast High School?

Purple hair. Well, the color on the box claimed to be “ultra violet.” And for Rochelle, it’s been her normal hair color for some time.

There’s not a word — not one word — in the student handbook, code of conduct or dress code section that says anything about hair color, and bolder, wilder shades than Rochelle’s purple are seen across the social strata at Northeast — in streaks or by the whole headfull. It isn’t a case of gang colors or logo’d T-shirts or bandannas or studded belts.

On Thursday morning, ten minutes after arriving for her first day as a senior at Northeast High School, Rochelle was told by Vice-Principal Nancy Borders that she would have to change her hair back to a “normal” color or face a three day suspension. “Don’t come back with that hair on Monday,” Rochelle was told. No comment was made as to what might happen beyond that three-day suspension if Rochelle’s hair color remained unchanged. «Read the rest of this article»

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