Maryland high school senior Thomas Benya found himself short one diploma for allegedly being short a tie at graduation. His argument - that a bolo tie is a tie:
High-school officials are withholding Thomas Benya's diploma because he wore a bolo tie under his graduation gown. Benya, 17, said he prefers the string bolo ties over traditional knotted ties to reflect his Native American heritage.At the risk of sounding like a snotty East Coast chick, I though bolo ties went out with the 80's. Apparently they're still high-fashion in some parts of the world, and then there's the "cultural heritage" issue. Frankly, I think a school should be free to set as strict a dress code as they desire for graduation, and also quite frankly, they should be glad their first "dress code vs. cultural expression" clash wasn't over something more, er, colorful.But officials from Maurice J. McDonough High School in suburban Washington, D.C., said they warned him that a bolo violated the dress code for the event, held Wednesday for about 250 students.
The bolo "was not considered by staff to be a tie," said Katie O'Malley-Simpson, a school spokeswoman. "We have many opportunities throughout the year to express cultural heritage. But we don't do that at graduation."
The politicians are on the case, as Montana governor Brian Schweitzer is in high dudgeon over the whole affair:
A Charles County high school's decision to deny a diploma to a senior who wore a bolo tie to graduation didn't offend just the student and his family. Montana's governor is mighty annoyed, too.Posted by kswygert at June 13, 2005 03:25 PM"To have some high school say that a bolo tie is not a tie is an outrage," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), who called The Washington Post yesterday after reading an article about 17-year-old Thomas Benya.
"In Montana and anyplace in Indian country, a bolo tie is dressed up. A tie is a tie," Gov. Brian Schweitzer says. "In Montana and anyplace in Indian country, a bolo tie is dressed up," he said. "A tie is a tie."