Posted on: Thursday, June 13, 2002
On Campus
Dress code battle may become all the fashion
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Staff Writer
For something no one can even see, the issue of what to wear under your gown at graduation sure gets people hot under the collar.
A statewide debate started when a high-school senior on Maui this spring asked to wear a pair of slacks instead of a dress, as all female students had been ordered to march in.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Department of Education, a Maui complex area superintendent and Attorney General Earl Anzai all got involved before school officials allowed Baldwin High senior Ivy Ka'anana to walk across the stage at graduation on May 31 in a pair of pants.
But her battle also might have started something of a trend.
On June 2, a cross-dressing male student was allowed to wear a dress under a graduation robe and walk with the girls during McKinley High's graduation ceremonies.
Keala Chow, 18, has been dressing as a girl since the age of 10 and has been taking female hormones for the past year. She considers herself a woman.
Chow said she contacted the ACLU after the school principal told her she would have to walk with the boys. She said she followed the case of Ka'anana, who also received legal help from the ACLU.
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Principals, vice principals, complex area superintendents and educational specialists from across Hawai'i gathered yesterday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the annual Education Leadership Conference.
Among the biggest topics of discussion was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as "No Child Left Behind."
The landmark education legislation will use federal aid as leverage to force improvements in low-performing schools and assure more help for needy students.
Many regard the legislation as the most far-reaching federal school measure since passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965. States would have to establish a minimum level of proficiency and make steady progress in bringing students up to that level within 12 years.
School systems across the country in general have reacted to the legislation with a mixture of resignation and dismay.
Failing schools would get federal help to improve, but continued failure would invite sanctions, including replacement of staff, revamping of curriculum or conversion to charter schools.
It also promises that all school officials will have to generate even more paperwork than they have to now.
"We're going to be producing very large truckloads of reports," said Michael Heim, director of planning and evaluation at the DOE.
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Friends of the Library of Hawai'i is getting ready for its massive yearly book sale at McKinley High School.
The event is July 6-13 and helps benefit all 50 public libraries. Last year, thousands of bookworms helped send $98,000 to the libraries, which have all seen their budgets slashed in recent years.
To that end, this year members of Friends of the Library are promoting a new election-year bumper sticker: "I support libraries and I vote."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
