Think Before Acting

Don’t be a cautionary tale

This is one for the “what the heck were they thinking” file. Last April in Pearland, Texas, near Houston, a 13-year-old African-American student attended Berry Miller Junior High School with what’s commonly called a “fade” haircut.

With a fade, the hair is shaved or cut close to the scalp in some places, longer in others. Sometimes there is a design in the shaved areas.

Well, apparently this violated the school’s dress code. The student was given a choice: In-school suspension or — here’s the “what were they thinking” part — allow school officials to color in the design with a permanent black marker.

No, we aren’t kidding.

The student chose to allow administrators to use the marker because he didn’t want to jeopardize his standing on the track team.

You can guess what comes next — yes, a lawsuit.

The student’s parents — who were not contacted until the punishment had already been administered — recently filed a federal civil rights suit against the district, school and three administrators. The suit charges that the punishment was unfair and demeaning and subjected the student to ridicule that led to anxiety and depression. It also notes the administrators — all white, by the way — were laughing as they used the marker and that it took weeks of scrubbing for the ink to fade.

We see similar stories quite often. Different circumstances, same lack of judgement. The lesson here is think before acting. Don’t be one of those stories.