GREELEY, Colo.—A 16-year-old high school student says he was forced to cut a braid he’d been growing for 10 years as a promise to his church after an official told him it was a violation of the anti-gang dress code.
School officials are now apologizing to Joe Zaragoza, saying the order was unwarranted.
Zaragoza says his rights were taken away and that 10 years of his life “went down the drain” after he cut his hair because he was afraid he would be expelled from school. Zaragoza says he had promised his church he wouldn’t cut the thin braid that ran down his back until he was 18.
Northridge High School Principal Margaret Neely says Assistant Principal Phil Thompson made a mistake in telling Zaragoza to cut his hair. She says it was not a dress-code violation.
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Information from: Greeley Daily Tribune,
