A Student at John Paul College in Kalgoorlie decided to ban a young male student from the school because of his haircut. This decision has divided the surrounding Australian community, having some cry out for the education system to ditch its “alienating rules.”
On Thursday, we learned that the student in question had been barred for four consecutive weeks after the school deemed his hairstyle “inappropriate.”
Petrina Wilson, The boy’s mother, told the Kalgoorlie Miner that her son’s mullet and shaved head breached the school’s uniform and personal appearance expectations policy. The student sported the haircut as a result of football celebrations.
Due to the “undesirable” haircut, he was barred from entering the school for a month.
Mrs. Wilson stated, “My son is being victimized and treated like he is a bad person.”
Though the expulsion seems excessive, there are supporters on both sides. Comments flooded Facebook with people ready to defend their own beliefs, with many criticizing Mrs. Wilson for allowing her son to keep the look.
One comment stated, “You sign the dress code when your kid starts at the school so you should abide by it. If you don’t agree then don’t sign and send your kid to another school. Simple as that.”
Another said, “Society has rules we all follow. Don’t set your kids up to fail.”
However, on the other side, others questioned how a simple hairstyle could have an impact on a learning environment and whether the punishment was justified.
One comment said, “What’s hair got to do with learning? It’s the brain that observes the education, not the hair.”
Yet another person- a hairdresser shared the story, raising awareness of “personal vendetta, segregation, and discrimination”.
“Is this really about a child’s haircut?” they wrote, “Be aware parents! This is not okay!”
Parents were disappointed with the school’s judgment around the hairstyles, venturing that it was based on the image of the institution itself rather than the individual students.
Despite the controversy surrounding this haircut, the mullet has returned in recent years. Men and boys of all ages are choosing to enjoy the business in the front and party in the back look.
A rise in popularity of the mullet, a hairstyle born in the ’80s, can be credited to some influential sporting characters across the country as well as recent television shows such as Netflix’s Stranger Things, inspiring young men to recreate the looks themselves.
