Principal: No Marine uniform at graduation

[unhappycamper]

Principal: No Marine uniform at graduation
Staff report
Posted : Monday Mar 9, 2009 14:32:41 EDT

By June 3, Nicholas Laccabue expects to be a Marine. The 17-year-old from Santa Clarita, Calif., graduated early from Saugus High School so he could attend boot camp. His hope, according to a report by KHTS radio, is to don his dress blues for the school’s official graduation ceremony in the spring.

Laccabue’s former principal, Bill Bolde, denied the request, the radio station reported. Bolde allegedly told Laccabue’s mother he didn’t want to set a precedent permitting students to wear anything other than a cap and gown. He told the radio station it is district policy. But that’s not true, according to a school board member who confirmed that such decisions belong to individual principals.

Laccabue’s mom has taken the matter up with Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif. Bob Hauter, McKeon’s deputy chief of staff, told KHTS that in his conversation with Bolde the principal described other schools’ experiences with cross-dressers and students wishing to wear religious attire to their graduation ceremonies.

“You cannot equate a young man who has not only graduated early from high school … and in fact is a (Marine) in uniform … with a cross-dresser,” Hauter told the radio station.

Bolde has allegedly offered a compromise: allowing Laccabue to lead the procession and the pledge of allegiance while wearing his Marine uniform. He’d then be required to slip the gown over his blues — a violation of the Corps’ military code that could subject the teen to a court-martial, his mom said.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/03/marine_nouniform_030609/%2e

[LARED]

1. Mr. Bolde is a knuklehead nt

[dsc]

2. The principal is correct here

If you make an exception for this person then you have to for the next one. I think the compromise should be tweaked by giving him time to change into dress clothes and put the cap and gown over that.

[DrDan]

3. "He wasn't doing this for attention" - yet his Mother goes on the radio to protest

sounds like the principal has made a reasonable compromise.