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Hunter Mahaffey
Hunter Mahaffey, a student at Hueytown High School in Hueytown, Ala., says teachers ordered him to remove his stud earrings in February.
Alabama high school student Hunter Mahaffey has won the right to wear his stud earrings to class again.
The Jefferson County Board of Education on Monday voted during a special meeting to repeal a policy that banned male students from wearing earrings. The change will be in effect for the next school year.
The reversal came after the Southern Poverty Law Center sent the school board a letter on April 25 saying that the male earring ban was unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Mahaffey, who just finished his junior year at Hueytown High School in Hueytown, Ala., was told by school officials to remove his simple stud earrings on Feb. 6, the first school day after he had his ears pierced. The school cited a district-wide policy that “ear jewelry may be worn by females only.”
“I’m really happy to get my ears pierced again and keep them pierced this time,” Mahaffey said in a press release issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center. “I felt discriminated against when the school made me remove my earrings just because I’m a guy. It’s a relief that the school board made the right decision by lifting the ban. Now students have more freedom and equality.”
In a follow-up phone interview, Mahaffey told msnbc.com: “I’m very happy they made the right decision to change it. I plan on getting my ears pierced again during the summer.”
He called the dress-code policy change “a good step forward for my school system.”
Sam Wolfe, attorney with the SPLC, said the case is about more than the right to wear an item of jewelry.
“One of the reasons this case was interesting from SPLC’s perspective is it really gets at the idea of gender stereotypes -- that it’s wrong for government or schools to make policy based on gender stereotypes,” Wolfe told msnbc.com.
The education board said it agreed to change the policy after researching other school districts in Alabama and finding that the overwhelming majority allowed wearing of earrings by males and females alike.
"It was determined in these financially challenging times that it was better to spend the tax dollars to meet instructional needs rather than to take on additional legal costs, the Jefferson County Board of Education said in a statement.
"The approved revision is gender-neutral and addresses safety measures, the potential for disruption, and the promotion of a conducive atmosphere for learning. It is believed by the School District that its students and parents will observe generally accepted standards of decorum and good judgment in their use of earrings and all jewelry."
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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He is wearing an ear ring because he wants to be a Pirate or a Princess......and I dont see no eye patch & sword.
I have had male employee's ask to wear ear rings on duty, I advise them as long as they are wearing a dress with matching purse...go ahead.
Good thing you were the boss and didn't get yer butt kicked there Mr. Manly Man, lmao.
His parents should be banned for naming their son, Hunter...
Should girls be 'allowed' to have short hair?
They are, as long as they still wear makeup and stuff. God forbid a girl not look really feminine all the time!
Why the hell do people in authority feel the need to micromanage people's lives? Why the hell can't guys wear earrings? Stupid.
Let those babies dangle boy's. Girl's do not find it attractive.
Is that a fact Jake Darnell?
I think earrings look very nice on men, actually. A little twinkle of just the right color can really set off a gentleman's eyes or complete an attractive outfit.
That doesn't mean ALL earrings look good on men - some really are quite feminine - but let's not make such sweeping generalizations! Male earrings are a cultural thing, and different women have different ideas of what looks good on a guy.
I say get these 'children' out of DAY CARE PRISONS! And back into small units which are manageable and Harmonious in raising YOUNG PEOPLE to become self- sufficient, self- respecting adults with self control and self discipline. For only with these qualities instilled in ANYONE are they going to amount to more than a hill of beans. We need to RETHINK all 'systems' FOR THE INTEGRITY IN WHICH THEY WERE MADE is no longer UPHELD, when SOCIETY itself has slipped into lowest common denominator leading and debased IGNORANCE.
omg!
And we wonder why the muslim world hates the west and cuts heads off of people who act just a little "progressive". Looks to me like the US is a poster child for why muslims shouldnt change any of their ways.
why is there something wrong with men having pierced ears?
So, children putting decorative steel posts through their ears is progressive and the reason why the Muslim world despises us?
I'm glad the policy changed. It just wasn't about earrings, it was also about sex discrimination. Can girls have short hair? Hair so short, they look like a boy? Oh, why yes they can, and they don't get fussed at for it. Leave the boys who want earrings alone. Let them have their freedom. I'm so tired of hearing of what this boy did. He wanted his rights, and he got them.
Way to go Hunter! Live out your freedom!
The southern states will never climb their way out of the 19th Century and I'm not just whistling Dixie!
19th century! More like the 13th! It isn't just the south either, it is rural areas in general. I spent 10 years in the midwest and it wasn't any better there.
Makes you wonder why guys wear two earings, one in each ear. I wonder if their mouths salivate as they look at guys. You wonder where else they have the third....
What an ignorant comment! Grow up and try using your mind for something productive instead of this kind of small minded thinking.
I think it's hilarious that every ignorant person commenting is under the impression that all guys who wear earrings are gay. The only guys I know who ever wear earrings are straight guys trying to be "rebellious."