Growing out the dress code

South Texas high school student Gerardo Garcia Jr., wants to grow a 10-inch mane then donate it to the Florida-based group Locks of Love. Locks of Love fashions wigs from the donated strands and provides the hairpieces to children who have lost hair as a result of chemotherapy. \nBut a Texas school board has denied Garcia's request. The 16 year-old argued against the decision, citing the policy as sexual discrimination because it bars boys from growing hair past their shoulders and allows girls the option. \nThe board refused to budge and instead is offering Garcia a position as American Cancer Society liaison and a $500 donation to cover the value of the hair. \nGarcia is not satisfied with the trade-off, and quite frankly, neither are we. If Garcia wants to grow his hair long, he should be able to do so, not only because his intentions are noble, but because he's a student at a public institution. \nControversies regarding dress codes have become quite the mainstay in the politics of education. According to www.firstamendmentcenter.org, many schools implemented dress codes and uniform policies in response to former President Bill Clinton's 1997 State of the Union address, where he stated:\n"Character education must be taught in our schools. We must teach our children to be good citizens. And we must continue to promote order and discipline, supporting communities that introduce school uniforms."\nClinton's intention, of course, is one worth applauding. But, in the same breath, policies that were created in hopes of teaching students character education, good values and good citizenship are the same policies that are stifling Garcia's attempts to act on those tenets.\nThe Garcia family history is plagued by cancer's disastrous effects, according to an Associated Press article. The teenager's grandmother had breast cancer, his great-grandmother died from lymphoma and his 11-year-old brother underwent lymph node removal last year. Gerardo's experiences with cancer are what motivated him to grow out his hair.\nIn the case of Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) students were allowed to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court based their decision on the belief that the student's mode of expression would neither cause substantial disruption or interfere with school activities nor invade the rights of other students.\nGarcia's hair length does none of the above. \nSome might argue against Garcia saying that in Tinker, the Court also notes, "The problem posed by the present case does not relate to regulation of the length of skirts or the type of clothing, to hair style or deportment."\nBut we feel as though Garcia's hair length has much more to do with expression than with style. Locks for Love has already verified the 16 year-old as a donor. And he has made clear the motivation behind growing his hair long.\n"They just can't see that I want to make a difference," Garcia said. "There are already plenty of organizations that give money."\nWe encourage Garcia to continue his fight -- for his right to expression, and more importantly, his right to make a difference.