Kibosh on kids' kilts seems a wee bit daft
Kibosh on kids' kilts seems a wee bit daft
John Martin, The Times
Published: Friday, May 28, 2010
Every now and then a minor news item from some remote part of the country literally turns my stomach and causes me to wonder how much more pathetic things can get before they turn around.
Such was the case with a story out of Raymond High School in southern Alberta last week. Grade 12 student Hamish Jacobs was informed by the Westwind School Division that he would not be permitted to wear his kilt to the convocation ceremony.
A proud Scot, Jacobs wished to represent his Scottish heritage at one of the most significant occasions in a young person's life. But apparently even a formal kilt doesn't comply with dress code policy.
I wonder what the reaction would have been if a Sikh, Muslim or aboriginal wanted to attend graduation in their respective cultural specific attire. Clearly, the school district would have bent over so far backwards to be accommodating you'd have needed a team of chiropractors to help them walk again.
Had the school district attempted to prohibit a student from wearing a burka or turban at graduation, administrators would have been fired on the spot and the groveling apologies would have been round the clock. The Alberta Human Rights Commission would have convicted the school district in a heartbeat and tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for hurt feelings would have been ordered. The entire Westwind School Division would have been forced to enroll in sensitivity workshops. The RCMP would likely have initiated an alleged hate crime investigation. And, of course, the CBC would have slapped together yet another disgraceful documentary depicting Albertans as the most intolerant, bigoted people in the country, unlike all those wonderful Torontonians who still vote Liberal.
It is mind numbing that the daft {censored}s running the education system in this part of the country couldn't grasp the stupidity and hypocrisy of their selective dress code enforcement. The ruling has been condemned from coast to coast. Countless organizations have waded in demanding Jacobs be allowed to show his Scottish pride.
The World Sikh Organization has written a letter insisting he be allowed to "practise his cultural background and honour his Scottish roots."
The story has caught on like wildfire and has been picked up by news outlets in half a dozen countries.
A Facebook campaign in support of Jaobs has taken off. Scottish country music singer Johnny Reid has become involved.
There are rumblings of late night talk host Craig Ferguson inviting the wronged student on his show.
Mercifully, such madness doesn't appear to be the norm. Abbotsford School District communications manager Dave Stephen says there's no such policy here and a student wishing to wear a kilt wouldn't even be an issue.
Hopefully, it's just a matter of time till Sean Connery travels to southern Alberta and busts some heads.
- John Martin is a criminologist at the University of the Fraser Valley and can be contacted at John.Martin@ufv.ca.
Kibosh on kids' kilts seems a wee bit daft
John Martin, The Times
Published: Friday, May 28, 2010
Every now and then a minor news item from some remote part of the country literally turns my stomach and causes me to wonder how much more pathetic things can get before they turn around.
Such was the case with a story out of Raymond High School in southern Alberta last week. Grade 12 student Hamish Jacobs was informed by the Westwind School Division that he would not be permitted to wear his kilt to the convocation ceremony.
A proud Scot, Jacobs wished to represent his Scottish heritage at one of the most significant occasions in a young person's life. But apparently even a formal kilt doesn't comply with dress code policy.
I wonder what the reaction would have been if a Sikh, Muslim or aboriginal wanted to attend graduation in their respective cultural specific attire. Clearly, the school district would have bent over so far backwards to be accommodating you'd have needed a team of chiropractors to help them walk again.
Had the school district attempted to prohibit a student from wearing a burka or turban at graduation, administrators would have been fired on the spot and the groveling apologies would have been round the clock. The Alberta Human Rights Commission would have convicted the school district in a heartbeat and tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for hurt feelings would have been ordered. The entire Westwind School Division would have been forced to enroll in sensitivity workshops. The RCMP would likely have initiated an alleged hate crime investigation. And, of course, the CBC would have slapped together yet another disgraceful documentary depicting Albertans as the most intolerant, bigoted people in the country, unlike all those wonderful Torontonians who still vote Liberal.
It is mind numbing that the daft {censored}s running the education system in this part of the country couldn't grasp the stupidity and hypocrisy of their selective dress code enforcement. The ruling has been condemned from coast to coast. Countless organizations have waded in demanding Jacobs be allowed to show his Scottish pride.
The World Sikh Organization has written a letter insisting he be allowed to "practise his cultural background and honour his Scottish roots."
The story has caught on like wildfire and has been picked up by news outlets in half a dozen countries.
A Facebook campaign in support of Jaobs has taken off. Scottish country music singer Johnny Reid has become involved.
There are rumblings of late night talk host Craig Ferguson inviting the wronged student on his show.
Mercifully, such madness doesn't appear to be the norm. Abbotsford School District communications manager Dave Stephen says there's no such policy here and a student wishing to wear a kilt wouldn't even be an issue.
Hopefully, it's just a matter of time till Sean Connery travels to southern Alberta and busts some heads.
- John Martin is a criminologist at the University of the Fraser Valley and can be contacted at John.Martin@ufv.ca.
