GENDER BENDER
Haverford students petition to end ‘archaic’ graduation color dress code
HAVERFORD >> Haverford High School graduating seniors have marched into commencement exercises wearing red and yellow gowns for decades. Young men have traditionally worn red, while young women have donned yellow.
While this longstanding tradition is held dear by many students and alums, others feel that times have changed, and the dual color system no longer fits life in the 21st century.
Such sentiments are expressed in a petition that’s circulating online, titled “Yellow or Red: We are all proud Fords.”
Drafted by senior Pablo Fierros, Jacob and Dana Kauffhold, Elliot Miciek and Liz Marino, the petition first appeared on Fierros’ Facebook page as a Google document earlier this week.
Addressed to Principal Peter Donaghy and members of the school board, the petition takes a stand against the high school’s “curious and outdated practice of gender labeling at commencement.”
Instead of allowing students to celebrate their achievements on equal footing, the petition claims the practice of wearing gendered gowns “drags students back in time” to an era when men and women were expected to have different aspirations.
Also pertinent for contemporary culture is how the practice may “leave little sense of belonging for those who identify outside the gender binary,” such as transgender and gender-fluid students.
“The tradition of graduates wearing a gown based on their biological gender, rather than their gender identity, is not suited for a time when more and more people identify outside of the traditional gender binary,” Fierros wrote in an email Wednesday.
In order to “bring Haverford into the 21st century,” the petition urges officials to adopt one color for all graduates, “uniting them at the moment of commencement rather than creating an artificial and noxious division.”
Alternatively, the petition requests that students have free choice over what color gown they wear.
Graduating seniors should be identified by “their commitment to and pride in their high school rather than some socially constructed notion of their gender identity. We believe this is a simple matter of social justice and equality.”
Fierros said he plans to present the petition, which had over 185 signatures as of Wednesday, at the next school board meeting, April 6.
Community Coordinator Anna Deacon said Tuesday that officials could not respond since they had not yet seen the document, but would address the petition appropriately.
Deacon pointed out that graduates are presently permitted to choose either color gown, regardless of their biological gender.
Fierros said many students don’t know they have that option. Even so, there would be “pressure from tradition to continue having these go by gender,” he said.
“The use of yellow and red gowns is dated, and we recommend that school administrators openly support students’ decisions to choose whichever color they wish, or assign the gowns in a way that does not force students into the gender binary,” Fierros said.
Karen Vitale, a parent and activist for the LGBT community, said a key point to consider is that not all gender expansive students are out. “Why force anyone to choose between two color options that are tied to specific genders? What about those who don’t ascribe to one or the other?”
Vitale is also a member of the Havertown Area Community Action Network, a grassroots group that’s advocating for the district to adopt official policy on transgender and gender nonconforming students. HCAN members have attended the past two school board meetings to speak on the subject.
Vitale views the petition as a “call for change coming from the students themselves … further proof that our schools are not just ready for change, they’re driving that change from the inside out.
“We’ve done a lot of talking about official policies and regulations with the school board … but this request represents an opportunity to make an immediate and relatively simple change that would have far-reaching impact on gender expansive students and all who support them,” Vitale said.
Although HCAN is not proposing specific policy, the group has pointed to Lower Merion School District’s Policy 259, Ensuring Equity and Nondiscrimination for Transgender and Gender Expansive Students, as a model.
Adopted May 2016, the policy includes provisions for dress code and uniforms, stating that “a school’s dress code policy shall be gender-neutral.”
The policy further states that students “have the right to dress in accordance with their gender identity within the constraints of the dress codes adopted by the school. Gender-neutral dress code guidelines apply to regular school days as well as any school sponsored activities.”
Lower Merion High School provides only maroon gowns for its graduating seniors.
Marple Newtown High School has also adopted a monochromatic color scheme, with graduates donning black for the momentous occasion.
Speakers like Laurie McCrudden, a Haverford parent, recently argued that having formal policy on such matters removes guesswork and provides answers for the “hows and whys” that might otherwise prove vexing.
While restroom access issues have dominated national debate on the subject of transgender rights, McCrudden said policy in the district where she teaches ensured that a transgender student was able to change his name on school records to match the gender he identifies with.
It also provided talking points for faculty to promote use of correct pronouns, McCrudden said.
Parent and teacher Leslie Mastronardo argued that, “With staff training and clear language put forth in policy, everyone from guidance counselors, principals, coaches, nurses and teachers can be equipped to support students and families.”
Elysia Mancini Duerr, an attorney and parent, said the district’s current practice of handling transgender issues on a case-bycase basis seems “arbitrary and reactive rather than proactive.”
Additionally, existing anti-bullying and harassment policies officials have cited are “not transgender policy that can be read and referred to.”
School officials have been receptive to HCAN’s request but want time to explore the subject more thoroughly.
Superintendent Maureen Reusche at the March 16 school board meeting said it’s not a matter of rubber stamping material another district has created.
Reusche said she’s pursued the matter over the past two weeks through meetings with HCAN members, high school students, and superintendents from
neighboring districts that have transgender policies. She has also reached out to cultural identity issues expert Jeanne Stanley, who worked with Lower Merion.
Reusche acknowledged that “there is always room for improvement,” even though she believes Haverford does provide an environment where students can feel safe and included.
Reusche further explained the process involved in drafting new policy, a process that takes
more than a few weeks or couple of months.
Officials must consider potential conflicts, and craft language that best suits needs of the community, Reusche said. Protocol calls for public discussion at a minimum of two meetings, school board President Denis Gray said.
Also in question is why some districts create standalone transgender policy, while others incorporate language into existing nondiscrimination regulations.
Reusche said teachers and administrators throughout the district will consider these questions and participate in efforts “to help us make an informed
decision.”
“We listen. We understand,” said Gray. “We’re moving forward and we listen to everything you’ve said.”