Posted by
Katie Favazza on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 5:26:42 PM
A Wisconsin high school is
forbidding a senior to wear his Marine uniform during his graduation ceremony. Here's part of the story:
''My son's wishes were simple: Daniel simply wanted to walk across the
stage in his Marine dress blues to accept his diploma,'' said his
father, Charles Lingen, who added after the meeting in an e-mail to
supporters that he was ''astonished'' at the board's decision.
''I
think there's going to be a lot of people angry over this,'' said
Lingen, predicting reaction from both veterans and parents of Bloomer
graduates, who will be affected by the new policy in other ways.
The
policy requires caps and gowns at the ceremony, bans the writing of
slogans or messages on the caps, and addresses proper clothing under
the gowns and footwear, according to School Board President Joe Zeman.
...
Daniel
Lingen completed his high school program by January, and so was allowed
to go directly to the Marine Corps. According to his father, Daniel
graduated from the basic training program in a ceremony.
Daniel
is still part of the BHS graduating class, though, and when it came
time to order his cap and gown, said he didn't want to do so because he
wanted to wear his Marine dress blue uniform.
The military code forbids wearing of another garment over the top of the Marine dress uniform.
If you'd like to give the school a piece of your mind--or, for more information--visit
this local radio station's blog, where, among other things, you'll find a link to the school directory.
Thanks to my friend Kevin for passing this story along and helping to spread the word.
Update: I missed that
Steve had this story up before I did. My bad.