Teens at a Washington state high school are standing up for students who say they were sent home from school for dressing up like the opposite sex.
White Pass High School students Chandler Krueger and Mason Mudge told local outlet KING-TV that they were asked to change or leave school last week after dressing up like Nicki Minaj and Miss America, respectively, for the school’s spirit week.
Mason Mudge dressed up in a Miss America costume. Photo credit: KING-TV
In response to the incident, at least 10 students at the school cross-dressed the next day to support the students. White Pass district superintendent Chuck Wyborney told The Huffington Post that none of those students were sent home.
Students who cross-dressed at White Pass School District. Photo credit: KING-TV
“I think its really awesome that all the kids support me and support the decisions that I made, like I walked into school this morning and everyone was wearing dress and pink and all that,” Mudge told KING-TV.
However, Wyborney disputes the students’ version of events. He told The Huffington Post that during the school’s spirit week, one male student was sent home because he wore a revealing outfit that violated the school’s dress code. Another male student was asked to change out of his female costume, but chose to go home instead. He would not specifically identify the two students.
Wyborney said that while one of the students was reprimanded for violating the school’s dress code, it had nothing to do with the fact that he was dressed as a female.
“If you were to look at a gender neutral dress code … if you’re wearing a short bottom that’s inappropriate,” said Wyborney over the phone.
Bob Knudsen, writer for the Examiner, decried the idea that students would be sent home from school for dressing like the opposite sex. However, he praised the fact that these students were ultimately supported by their peers.
“While it seems like society has a long way to go on issues of gender identity, the fact that these youths stepped up should give us hope that the next generation will be even more enlightened,” wrote Knudsen. “Who knows, maybe a day where girls having male heroes and boys having female heroes will not be considered weird, but simply looking up to a person they admire.”
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