Teenagers respond to the PHS Dreadlock Gate

I was talking to some teenagers in my family about the issue of Dreadlock Gate that is currently playing out over at Peoria High School. Here are some of their thoughts:

from pjstar

"Out of all of the things that Mr. Ruffin does to students, he gets suspended for this?"

"Rahkim's hair is neatly pulled back. In girls sports we are required to pull our hair back and use a band that doesn't have metal; why can't the boy's teams do that?"

"In ballet class we HAVE to wear a bun."

Chicago Bull's Joakim Noah

"Dr. Lathan wears braids sometimes of course she is going to stand up for Rahkim."

"Why they messing with Coach Ruffin? Parents complain about teachers all the time and they don't care. She just don't like Coach Ruffin."

#keepingitreal

Frankly, this is a no win situation for The District. I personally find the whole incident very unfortunate, because it is bringing scrutiny to how a large number of people, mainly African-American, wear their hair.

Sports aside - some of us got hair issues that play into how we as people interact with each other. 

I have people in my family who wear dreads/braids/locks and it is possible to pull them back very neatly AND professionally, if necessary. There is nothing wrong with Rahkim's dreads, if that is how he wants to wear his hair. A requirement to cut if you want to play is extreme.

The Lion's mane

There is a very interesting article in the Sports section of the pjstar about the suspension of Peoria High School Basketball Coach, Dan Ruffin. 

Those who are not from these parts may not know how beloved Coach Ruffin and the Peoria High School Basketball Program is. They also may not know that some of the most prominent citizens in this City played basketball for the Central Lions, that's part of the reason why Peoria High is still standing AND getting improvements.

Let me just say that the pjstar writer went OFF!. I pulled out some of the more salient pieces of the article because many of the statements are now a recurring theme with this Superintendent and her Board...

... climate of intimidation 

cultivated by Superintendent Grenita Lathan.

Lathan and her people are out of bounds here.

When it comes to supporting coaches, teachers and principals on issues involving discipline, her reputation is not good. The belief runs throughout the district that her unspoken message to students is they won’t be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s misconduct in the classroom or failing to comply with board policy. This hair incident doesn’t do anything to counter that perception, nor the one that 

she believes rules and procedures don’t apply to her.

Lathan is superintendent, but she’s not queen.

The policy that allows the coaches to impose team rules and, yes, regulate the appearance of their players was approved by the school board and last revised in July 2011. If Lathan wanted to amend it — perhaps, declare that participation in school athletics is a Constitutional right for every student — fine. 

Take it to the board, which employs her... and win the vote.

She hasn’t done that.

Instead, her office issued a mandate and sends out spokesman Chris Coplan to try to explain to the public.

“The district,” Coplan told the Journal Star’s Adams, “does not have a policy specific to hair styles, and team decisions should not be made that do not follow district-wide policies.”

Huh?