As if being a teenager in America were not hard enough: Matt Allsup, 13, was confronted by administrators at Garfield Middle School in Hamilton, Ohio, because he showed up for classes wearing black eye makeup, lipstick and fingernail polish. Matt's eyeliner is not as heavy handed Robert Smith; more Pete Wentz-esque — but the school has a rule against "extreme or distracting" makeup. Matt, of course, argues, "I do not find this distracting. At all."
Anyway, Matt is now banned from wearing makeup to school. Matt's mom, Mindy Ball, is behind her son 100%. She thinks the administrators would never scold a female student for her makeup and says: "They're gender stereotyping. He's being sexually discriminated against. Nowhere in the rules does it say that males can't wear makeup." Here's the strange thing: Every student in the school has to wear a badge, which reads: "Respect. Personal Responsibility. Honesty. Compassion. Acceptance." And on the back: "Do you value the uniqueness of others?"
What is this school teaching? Hypocrisy? That what you look like when you show up is more important than whether you're ready to learn?
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