Freedom to Wear a Mohawk

This story is more than a little ridiculous. A sixth grader attending Kindergarten in Ohio was recently suspended becuase of his mohawk haircut. The school apparently had a strict dress code, but it failed to mention the inability to wear the rebellious hair style. Administrators said that the mohawk was distracting other students and getting in the way of their education...

I find this to be a load of crap. How are administrators justified in suspending a small child for something he really can't control. I remember when I was that young, my parents picked out my clothes each day and decided exactly how I would style my hair. If I didn't like it, then too bad. I find it pretty hard to believe that a Kindergarten student would have the authority to tell his parents that he wants such an outlandish haircut. On the other hand, it's pretty outrageous to take a way a person's right to style themselves as they want to when it is not forbidden in the school's handbook. I think this situation resulted in poor decisions by all adults involved, both parents and administrators. I feel really bad for the poor kid involved. It would be really awful to be pulled away from your friends due to a mohawk that was forced upon you by your mother and forbidden unneccesarily by your school. This whole thing was blown way out of proportion. It was a six year old child for Heaven's sake. Suspension is a little extreme...