2022-08-29 07:15:23
LESSON 7
MUCH ADO ABOUT A HAIRCUT
Perhaps you read about our school in the newspapers? We were one of the first to have a showdown on the topic of long hair for boys. Two honor students, Ron Harris and Len Chester, were sent to the principal by their French teacher, an
implacable foe of nonconformists, who went into a
paroxysm of anger when she spied the boys in the hall. At first it seemed like a simple case. The school would reprimand* the boys for their
reprehensible appearance and order them to cut their hair or be suspended. But the boys’ parents decided that the school had overstepped its
jurisdiction; they took their case to the newspapers. What had started as a local
skirmish now began to take on the appearance of a full-scale war.
THE TEMPEST SPILLS OUT OF THE TEAPOT
Once the newspapers got the story, the case of the longhairs became a cause célèbre.* Ron and Len were interviewed, seen on TV, and regarded by their fellow students as heroes. “These are not delinquents or hoods,” one reporter wrote, “but clean-cut American boys who are being
harassed by a
monolithic school system.” A caustic* editorial referred to the school’s decision as
arbitrary and inane.* A false story even circulated about the boys being rock-’n-roll performers whose
indigent families needed their salaries. Finally, the Civil Liberties Union jumped into the
fray with a court order stipulating* that the principal be required to show cause why the boys should not be allowed to return to class.
HAIRCUT DILEMMA
The school authorities were
stymied. Public opinion had been marshaled against them. No longer was it a simple case of disciplining two wayward lads. Suddenly it had taken on the appearance of a nightmare in which the principal was either hanged in
effigy or pictured in cartoons making a villainous swipe at the two innocent Samsons. But
the officials could not allow Ron and Len to
flout their authority with impunity.* Members of the school board concurred* with the principal’s action but they were
cognizant of the popular support for the boys. Clearly a compromise was called for to resolve the
turbulent situation.
HAPPY ENDING?
Following an executive session, the school board ordered the principal to
terminate the suspension and to send the boys back to class
forthwith. Unless it could be shown that their presence disrupted the learning process, there was no reason to bar the boys. It was a bitter pill to swallow* for the principal whose irritation was
exacerbated by the
ruling. But some of the sting was taken out of the victory when the boys appeared in school the next day with their hair clipped to a respectable length. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Just as things were about to
revert to normalcy, however, the same French teacher then demanded that a girl be
ousted from school for wearing a mini skirt.
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