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November 12, 2009
Brian Jeon
Recently the school had an unofficial hat protest to counter the “no hat policy” administered this year. The administration reacted with a threat to confiscate every single unauthorized hat they saw. The protest was met with minimal consequences, but the hat rule continues to exist.
The district said the hat rule was made because hats could signify gang affiliation. While that accusation may have some degree of truth to it, it is a broad and ineffective rule. Sure, the rule can stop gangs from representing themselves through the use of hats, but what is there to stop them from using some other medium to express their affiliation? What if they started to use wrist bands? We should get right on banning that, too! People will always find a way around a barrier, but that doesn’t mean the district should destroy every little pebble that gets in the way.
The price we pay for this is much greater than what we gain. From the rule, we supposedly stop the horrible crusade of gang affiliation through the expression of hats, but we lose part of the freedom to wear what we want. Hats are a great part of what students wear to express themselves.
However, simply complaining to the school and protesting is not an effective way to express hate for the measure. The rule is a district policy, and no amount of protest will change the school’s rules. To actually change the mandate, students will find it best to discuss it with the FUSD board members and the Fremont Police Department, which implemented the policy in the first place.
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November 15th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
When I was your age…
Sure, I’m old. I’m, like, 30. Still. Hat policies are nothing new. When we were young, hats were restricted in school simply because it is considered impolite and uncivilized to wear hats indoors. Outside the building, we were allowed to wear any hats we wanted, but as you walked though the door, the hat came off. If a teacher saw it, they took it. Maybe you’re in a gang, maybe you’re not, but maybe we should all learn some manners and only wear hats outside of school.
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