Breast Cancer Awareness Headband Causes Controversy

A young Bel Air boy is at a loss after his efforts to show support for breast cancer awareness were deemed inappropriate by his school.

Samuel Queen posted a message on the Bel Air Patch Facebook page explaining his desire to wear a pink headband to Bel Air Middle School in honor of breast cancer awareness month.

The letter states the student was told the headband violated school policy because it didn't hold his hair down.

Teri Kranefeld, manager of communication for Harford County Public Schools, said she was not aware of the incident, but said any items that distract from smooth school operations can be prohibited at the discretion of the school administration.

The school system's policy on head wear states, "Head wear, including, but not limited to, hats, visors, doo rags, sweatbands, and bandannas, is not to be worn inside school buildings during the school day."

The following is the letter posted by Samuel Queen:

I am a middle school student attending Bel Air Middle School in Harford County, MD. Recently it has become the month of October. It is mostly known for its breast cancer awareness. I have a history with family when it comes to cancer in general. I have had 3 family members die of cancer, the first being diagnosed in 3rd grade.

I shaved my head bald in support of my Uncle who was diagnosed. Cancer is not a topic I take lightly. I purchased a pink, white, and black breast cancer head band to wear in school in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. I also shaved my head once again to show support. On the first day wearing it i was told to take it off. Reasons being because I was a "guy" and had "no hair to hold down."

This made me upset. I told my parents about it and they told me to "drop the topic." But that is not what I wanted to do. I wanted to show support. The next day, I walked into school and asked my assistant principle if head bands were allowed in school. He told me no, and that it was a county wide rule that head bands were not aloud.

But girls wear head bands all the time at school. So why cant I? Just because I am a guy and have no hair? He then told me "Girls wear them to hold their hair down." he even said "A guy with long hair still could not wear a head band."

So this, from his words, has only been directed to guys. "I had a couple of guys at a previous school wear head bands that represented a gang." But girls can be in gangs too?

I had done some research and found no such rule limiting head bands from our school. One rule did state though that "Head wear, including, but not limited to, hats, visors, doo rags, sweatbands, and bandannas, is not to be worn inside school buildings during the school day." None of which had applied to what I was wearing. Now of course school rules can make you take something off if it is a distraction to class but that has not been brought up in discussion yet. What should I do?