The internet is rallying around a teen boy who was suspended from his Texas high school for wearing nail polish.
Trevor Wilkinson, 17, was given in-school suspension on November 30 for violating the dress code at Clyde High School in Clyde, Texas, which is 15 miles east of Abilene. Male students are not allowed to wear nail polish, according to the Clyde Consolidated Independent School District dress code, which Wilkinson calls discriminatory.
"I have been doing this to express who I am. I've been trapped in closed minded people's minds. ... I love my nails. I think they're so cool. I'm definitely using it to express myself and feel everyone should have that freedom of expression," Wilkinson, who identifies as gay, told USA Today.
Wilkinson used social media to rally support around what he sees as an unfair policy. He asked followers on Snapchat to contact the district and started a Change.org petition, which has over 255,000 signatures.
"It’s a complete double standard because girls are allowed to paint and get their nails done. Not only that, but freedom of expression is validation enough that the dress code and policy is not okay. I am a gay male and I’m beyond proud. This is unjust and not okay. Help me show that it is okay to express yourself and that the identity that society wants to normalize is not okay," Wilkinson wrote on the petition's website.
His story was even picked up by Good Morning America.
While the teen has many online supporters, Clyde CISD is standing firm. The district and the high school principal told Wilkinson that his suspension would end if he removed the polish, but the teen said he's standing his ground, KTAB reported.
The suspension was eventually lifted, but the school district hasn't changed its dress code policy.
“If one student is allowed to break rules, throw a fit, post rude pictures directed to the district, and in doing so get his way, it sends a message to the other students that are following rules and respect authority," said Bonnie Hart, a former educator, at a special school district meeting on Thursday.
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