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Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For Wearing a Dress

By TChris, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Sun May 15, 2005 at 12:48:45 PM EST
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by TChris

How will kids ever learn to respect and appreciate the First Amendment when schools persist in punishing them for exercising their right to free expression? Kerry Lofy went to his senior prom with a gay friend who didn't have a date. Lofy hoped to make a statement about "fitting in" at the prom by his attire: he wore a dress and earrings, and he carried a purse.

Although school authorities didn't turn away the other attendees who wore prom dresses (they happened to be females), they sent Lofy home. Undeterred, Lofy returned in a leisure suit. Poor fashion sense wasn't enough to dissuade the school administration from letting Lofy in, so Lofy was allowed to enter the prom. He later ripped off the leisure suit to reveal his dress.

A police officer escorted Lofy out of the building (again), and he was later given a ticket for disorderly conduct. While the school claims that his dance routine was "risque" and therefore disorderly, Lofy maintains that his dancing was no different from that of other students, and that he was singled out for prosecution because the school didn't like the message he was sending. Lofy was also suspended for three days and ordered to miss a track meet.

Individuality is apparently a disfavored value in the Lake Geneva School District, but governmental tolerance of unpopular viewpoints is exactly what the First Amendment requires. Students in Lake Geneva won't learn that if they see their school administrators squelching creative protest.

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    Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For Wearing a Dress | 10 comments (10 topical)
    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#1)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:04 PM EST
    From my recollection, it seems that schools have always been more indoctrination camp than learning center. Of course, the ironic thing here is the "authorities" that decide to punish non-conformity are probably some of the kinkiest mofos on the planet behind closed doors.

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#2)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:04 PM EST
    et al - When will schools learn to ignore kids who are just dying to be noticed and make a statement? I would have checked his purse to make sure he had the correct shade of lip stick and asked him to select the first dance song... which would have had to be.. "It had to be you, incredible you.."

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#3)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:04 PM EST
    "How will kids ever learn to respect and appreciate the First Amendment when schools persist in punishing them for exercising their right to free expression? Kerry Lofy went to his senior prom with a gay friend who didn't have a date. Lofy hoped to make a statement about "fitting in" at the prom by his attire: he wore a dress and earrings, and he carried a purse." How will any of us have free speech rights so long as TL and others on the left cheer on McCain, Feingold, Shays, and Meehan in their ongoing efforts to stifle political speech? before you criticize anyone else on this issue, I think you need a mirror

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#4)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:04 PM EST
    JR, Hmmmm...McCain, Feingold...sounds like you are talking about campaign finance issues. You aren't gonna claim that bribing political officials falls under the umbrella of free speech are you?

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#5)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:04 PM EST
    Ernesto - No. When they tell you what you can do "x" number of days before an election they are censoring you.

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    Had he dressed as a Republican, he would have been committed into a lunatic asylum for showing up naked. The emperor has no suit, nor brains.

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#7)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    dronchee - If he had worn a skirt made up of paper copies of the Rathergate memo CBS would have hired him and PBS would have interviewed him.

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#8)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:05 PM EST
    It seems the only disorderly conduct here is on the part of the school administrator, making much ado about nothing. We had a guy in my Catholic high school who wore a dress everytime we had a dress-down day. No one cared.

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:07 PM EST
    Francis the talking mule brays. wowza

    Re: Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For We (none / 0) (#10)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:07 PM EST
    drronchee, Maybe they should have a website where they publish the names of all tha mule f***ers.

    Student Charged With Disorderly Conduct For Wearing a Dress | 10 comments (10 topical)