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Waianae High School students Naomi Medeiros, front, and brother Micah Medeiros, right, do not want to wear school uniforms, worn by exchange student Catherine Genenger, left, and student body Vice President Tammilyn Romero.




2 students in Waianae
uniform controversy

The 2 are seeking waivers
to Waianae High’s uniform policy


By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com

Sixteen-year-old Naomi Medeiros and her brother, Micah, were sent home from school with their mother, Kapua, Tuesday because they failed to wear Waianae High School's uniform shirt.

The Medeiroses were among about 20 people at a meeting last night at the high school to discuss the uniform policy.

"I'm not going to say, 'Put on the damn shirt and go to school,'" said Kapua, who supports her children's fight for self-expression.

Naomi, a senior, said she and her friends collected more than 150 signatures from students opposed to the uniform.

While Naomi and Micah say they have a right to wear their own clothing at school, Waianae High officials say the policy was started last year for safety reasons. With the students wearing a uniform shirt, they say, outsiders are easier to spot on campus.

The uniform policy was also a way to combat the negative perception of the school, said Lanny Busher, president of the SCBM Council at Waianae High.

At last night's School Community Based Management Council meeting, no decision was made on the Medeiros' request for a waiver to the policy because there was no quorum present. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 5.

But Naomi Medeiros said she was told by Margo Torigoe, vice principal of Waianae High School, that she will be allowed to wear her own clothing to school until further notice.

Torigoe said the school's standard dress top was introduced last year, and students were given the opportunity to ask for a waiver. To get a waiver, students had to state a civil-rights reason, she said.

Kapua Medeiros said she missed the deadline for a waiver application by one day.

About 1,900 students attend Waianae High School. Only a small percentage of students have waivers, Torigoe said. Those exempted from wearing the uniform are still restricted from wearing revealing clothing such as halter or tube tops.

If student fails to wear the uniform, three options are available: Parent can drop off a shirt; students can collect work from their teachers and study at the schools' "alternative-learning setting" on campus; or their parent can pick them up.

"Parents always have the option to take their kids out of class," Torigoe said.

Three student representatives who attended yesterday's meeting said a vote supporting the uniforms was taken two years ago, but Naomi said she was unaware of that vote.

She also noted some of the students are unable to purchase the uniform top.

Vice Principal Ryan Oshita said if a student states financial hardship on the waiver, the student would be given a shirt, provided the uniform is paid for within a year. Students can also clean classrooms for two days for a shirt, he said.

Though Medeiros wants to express her individuality, she said she would wear the shirt if the schools purchased it for the students instead of their parents.



State Department of Education


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E-mail to City Desk

BACK TO TOP


Text Site Directory:
[News] [Business] [Features] [Sports] [Editorial] [Do It Electric!]
[Classified Ads] [Search] [Subscribe] [Info] [Letter to Editor]
[Feedback]
© 2002 Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- https://archives.starbulletin.com