Jones had held his ground even though he knew his high school graduation was a once in a life time event.
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On Wednesday night, Jones dressed in his cap and gown and headed to his high school graduation.
Andrew Jones graduated at the top of his class, but his Louisiana high school prevented him from participating in his graduation because of a rule about facial hair, despite the fact that the rule had never been enforced before.
Jones said he didn’t shave because the facial hair policy has never been enforced.
The school district said it has a policy of no facial hair on male students.
A HIGH SCHOOL student from Louisiana who selected to deliver the farewell statement at his graduation ceremony was banned from the commencement because he refused to shave off his beard. “The hair on my face has nothing to do with school”.
In his interview, Jones told WWL that school officials asked him to shave his beard, and when he did not comply they took his gown.
Furthermore, a 4.0 student who has been recognized as valedictorian and student of the year should not have been turned away and disgraced on the day that was supposed to celebrate all of his hard work.
Upon their arrival at the ceremony, they had been warned that if they refused to go into the bathroom to shave their beards, they would not be graduating with the rest of their class. “I wasn’t distracting anybody”.
Jones” mother, Julie Ricard, told MS News that the school needed “to check themselves, poor administration’.
“I’m gonna play some football at Southern”, Jones said.
“The board has a policy and we have to adhere to the policy until it gets changed”, he said.
The local NAACP is looking into the matter.
School Board member Betty Robinson said this is part of the culture of some students in the system.
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“His robe and his cap were taken so that he couldn’t march, and that is just wrong”, Patricia Morris, Tangipahoa Parish NAACP chapter president, said.
