Deal allows Kaimuki senior to march

A 20-year-old graduating senior joined her Kaimuki High School class at their commencement ceremony Saturday at the Waikiki Shell thanks to a compromise between student and school.

The girl, who asked to be identified only as Devon, was told she could not march because she refused to meet the dress code requiring girls to wear skirts under their robes.

Department of Education intervention at the 11th hour pointed out previous instances when dress codes were waived. But Kaimuki High officials said Friday that the girl had a second strike against her: She had not attended six rehearsals for the graduation.

"The principal called my house Saturday morning and asked if I still wanted to walk," Devon said. "He said I still had to wear a dress. I bought a skirt but I wore shorts underneath it."

Meanwhile, "the school waived the sticky point about practices due to extenuating circumstances," said DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen.

"The school made the ultimate decision," he said. But that choice came after DOE officials informed school administrators about past incidents, including a 2002 case on Maui in which a girl was allowed to wear shorts under her robe.

Devon said she thinks other girls will complain about the dress code in the future. "I wish they would make a new rule that you can wear anything you want."

She is moving on. "I want to join the Army National Guard," she said, and she knows about their uniform code.