[Article] Students barred from exams over haircuts

Sonofagun_90

No he let us, but told us that we would be sitting the exams else where from then on.

BMH

Sonofagun_90 wrote:

No he let us, but told us that we would be sitting the exams else where from then on.

And you sat exams today?

In that case, I don't see why Enda refused to go to Clara. I had thought he had simply sent you home on Wednesday, but since Clara was organised, why not go?

oRlyYaRly

Maybe he was physcologically traumatised?

CLADA

From watching the news tonight I noticed all the students filmed and interviewed were wearing school uniform except our friend with the stubble, he had the standard hoodie and seemed happy to have an excuse not to have to sit his exams and turn the whole episode into a fight for his rights and justice. schools have rules, countries have laws breaking the former normally means breaking the latter as life progresses. I hope the principal has the courage to stand by the rules of the school.

BMH

I'm assuming he had no uniform as he wasn't allowed sit his exams in school?
Almost every teen had a hoodie.

ANarcho-Munk

CLADA wrote:

From watching the news tonight I noticed all the students filmed and interviewed were wearing school uniform except our friend with the stubble, he had the standard hoodie and seemed happy to have an excuse not to have to sit his exams and turn the whole episode into a fight for his rights and justice. schools have rules, countries have laws breaking the former normally means breaking the latter as life progresses. I hope the principal has the courage to stand by the rules of the school.

I think the argument that was also being made is that in the past the principal has made very unfair decisions (some apparently that aren't even outlined in the school rules ) and that overall the principal was a bit of a power tripper.

zAbbo

CLADA wrote:

From watching the news tonight I noticed all the students filmed and interviewed were wearing school uniform except our friend with the stubble, he had the standard hoodie and seemed happy to have an excuse not to have to sit his exams and turn the whole episode into a fight for his rights and justice. schools have rules, countries have laws breaking the former normally means breaking the latter as life progresses. I hope the principal has the courage to stand by the rules of the school.

But 'school' finished last friday, The principal had no right to refuse admission to a state exam, for the same reason, that teachers are not allowed in the exam hall. As the exam is run by a seperate body.

It was a personal grudge, bother parties have some blame imo.

Rules are rules, but for the love of god, the lads only got a buzz cut, I wouldn't tar our pal here Sonofagun_90 with the same brush as the main skanger who refused to sit his exams.

CLADA

Bring back Michael Noonan....ban the Hoodie!!!!

ANarcho-Munk

CLADA wrote:

Bring back Michael Noonan....ban the Hoodie!!!!

I almost lolled myself to death there.:D

abelard

BMH wrote:

Just saw the news report. McEvoy seems proud of his descision. Have you no student council for concerns like this?

just have to rofl at that. that student council existed as purely a show for the principal's beloved "school image". It involved 'important' tasks such as forming an orderly queue of people for the canteen (which, as was stated, was pretty sh1t)

CLADA

Lads I don't know what age group the participants are on this thread I did my leaving cert in 1981 so even junior cert mathematicians can work out my age from that. I believe your personal appearance is your own business if school rules exist and students disagree with them lobby the parents association and the board of management and get them changed, you are all young adults so get together and sort it...good advice from the wise old one!!!

oRlyYaRly

There are law(s?) about personal appearance though, so it makes sense to have school rules about it.

BMH

oRlyYaRly wrote:

There are law(s?) about personal appearance though, so it makes sense to have school rules about it.

That just stops streaking, not haircuts.

Piste

CLADA wrote:

Lads I don't know what age group the participants are on this thread I did my leaving cert in 1981 so even junior cert mathematicians can work out my age from that. I believe your personal appearance is your own business if school rules exist and students disagree with them lobby the parents association and the board of management and get them changed, you are all young adults so get together and sort it...good advice from the wise old one!!!

One would assume that this being a Junior Cert forum on the eve of exams that most frequenters of the board would be JC students.

oRlyYaRly

BMH wrote:

That just stops streaking, not haircuts.

And if they follow the haircut rule they'll definetly follow the streaking law. The system works.

Sonofagun_90

Was Enda expected to wear his uniform into the school when it was made clear to his mother yesterday that he wasn't to turn in for his exams today in the Tullamore College?
McEvoy organised the students places in Clara *without* consulting the parents. Without checking if it were possible.
In Enda's case it wasn't. And Enda is far from being a scanger. He hasn't sat his, as it was inconvenient to his mother to travel over 11 miles from his house to Clara school and back. (22 miles) back at lunch time (another 22) back for his second exam (22 miles) and collect his this evening (yet another 22) That was 88 miles on her just so he could sit 2 exams, he was upset at the trouble yesterday and he freaked at his english as all this trouble had started before we went in. Neither myself nor Butch want to return to face McEvoy, sitting in a special exam centre, like animals. I will continue to sit my exams in Clara, (just cleared with Clara principal) and if at all possible will not return to Tullamore College.

oRlyYaRly

I imagine they are obliged to provide transport, even if they won't let him do it there.

PurpleFistMixer

Not allowed stay in the school for the breaks? Rather unfair. My best JC memories were what happened during the breaks...

Agent Smith

SouperComputer wrote:

Personally id have told the principal where to go.

thats what i did when i went to my english leaving cert with my hair dyed. After trying to stop me doing my exam there, i said i was going to call the education ministers office and tell them that i was Refuses admittance into my exams. he backed down then.

secret_squirrel

Has anyone else realised that Sonofagun_90 was asked for proof of who he was, whereas oRlyYaRly wasnt and is acting in a rather trollish manner?

So oRlyYaRly you going to put up or shut up?

Twinkle-star15

All I can say is thank god my school is not that strict. We don't even have to wear our uniforms during the exams, which is brilliant as I'd probably die from over-heating if we did (my uniform is head to toe navy. And I live in Limerick [v.long skirt], so I mean head to TOE).

Our principal is very strict on the hair thing too, only the other way round. Loads of guys in my school were told they had to get their hair cut our they'd be suspended. It's really ridiculous- oh, and the rules only apply to guys. I don't think they're supposed to, but no girl is ever suspended for dyed hair, and one guy was during the mocks. Sexist? Yes, incredibly so.

I don't see how the principals have the right to insist on wearing uniforms and getting/not getting haircuts etc. during the exams. I mean, we technically finished school on the second. We're not still their responsibility or whatever, are we?

oRlyYaRly

Sexism is a two way street and it always balances. At least in this country anyway.

spurious

There is no automatic right to sit your exam in the school you attended. It is simply a convenience. Once the Principal had arranged another centre he had covered himself. As the SEC said, the acceptable standards of appearance argument is a local issue.

As I understand it though, there was a delay in arranging an alternative centre? This is where the Principal runs into problems - if a candidate missed an exam because of an alternative centre not being arranged, or because the candidate was not told about the alternative centre. Once he was told and chose not to present himself for the exam, then it is the candidate's problem, not the Principal's.

Where are the outraged parents of other students in the school not wanting this to happen to their children, or are they all silently agreeing with and assenting to the Principal's standards?

Stark

zabbo wrote:

Rules are rules, but for the love of god, the lads only got a buzz cut, I wouldn't tar our pal here Sonofagun_90 with the same brush as the main skanger who refused to sit his exams.

Indeed. Rules are rules but over zealous enforcement of rules is bullying. If this incident happened in the "real world" (don't you just love that phrase? ), it would be a clear case of harassment.

I'm amazed when people don't see that going out to ruin a person's education because you don't like their haircut is seriously very ****ed up.

nesf

Stark wrote:

Indeed. Rules are rules but over zealous enforcement of rules is bullying. If this incident happened in the "real world" (don't you just love that phrase? ), it would be a clear case of harassment.

Would it? Would a person who was told to go home from work because they were dressed incorrectly be someone who is being harassed or someone who doesn't know what's expected of them in the workplace and who needs to grow up?

In a lot of customer facing/professional roles you are expected to jump through the hoops of dress codes etc. It's not harassment, it's how the "real world" is in a lot of workplaces. In a lot of them zero-tolerance isn't needed since if you were the type to ignore dress codes a lot you'd not make it past probation.

Over zealous enforcement is not bullying and it is not harassment. It's a muppet on a power trip sure, but neither of those consititute the above.

stevejazzx

What a dumb fuk that principal is, no better way of dealing with these boys other than banning them doing their JC in his school, a sad empty nazi of a man, bitter and lonely eejit on some mild power trip aimlessly misfiring his authority, secretly hoping someone will notice his silent scream for help, get me out of here, I've gone mad, I've lost the plot, I've just suspended 12ish year old boys because their hair was indeterminably short......."look" he cries out to the world, "I'm mental"........

philologos

Firstly, its June people will want to get their hair cut short (I don't think theres anything wrong with that anyway, its hardly being a bad student) He has no right to take them from their exams.
Secondly, just to have a comment on his bike riding antics, we aren't allowed out at lunch either and they send teachers into Liffey Valley to go and check to see if people were there. Dissobeyed by most day-pupils anyway at some point. But it's still hilarious the amount of energy he is willing to exert himself just to catch some people in town at lunch.

BMH

Just heard Mrs. Treacy on the radio. Put up a good argument. This school is a VEC school, yet this particular rule doesn't apply in any other VEC school and only came about when McEvoy got into power. Clara is a sister school yet they don't have the strict haircut code at all. She also pointed out how plenty of students shown on TV coming out of their exams at that school had their hair at blade 1 or 2 yet weren't suspended.

McEvoy doesn't look like he's in trouble though. The SEC didn't really care and the only official body to condemn his is the Union of Secondary Students, not that they have any power.

nesf

Removing teachers is stupidly hard anyways. At worst he'll probably come out of this with a slap on the wrist, if even.

Stark

nesf wrote:

Would it? Would a person who was told to go home from work because they were dressed incorrectly be someone who is being harassed or someone who doesn't know what's expected of them in the workplace and who needs to grow up?

That's different. Being sent home to change is an appropriate response to the situation where an employee is dressed inappropriately. Being denied the right to do your Junior Cert because you had your hair cut is not.