Students call out administration for bracelets

Churchill County Middle School saw a little commotion Friday morning with a very small group of protesters who are accusing the administration for being in the wrong.

Mandy Elmore, a concerned parent, said the school is taking away her son’s right to express and support breast cancer awareness.

“All these kids want to do is wear bracelets that say ‘I love boobies’ to show their support for breast cancer awareness,” Elmore said. “These kids aren’t immature, and they’re trying to show they’re grown up but can’t because the administration is making a big deal out of it.”

Elmore said her son, Dylan Pierce, takes wearing the bracelet seriously because he lost an adopted aunt to breast cancer. She said the administration is turning the situation into a bigger deal than it should be and the administration is the one making the bracelet a distraction, not the words on the bracelet.

Pierce, who is in eighth grade, said he will continue to protest the school’s decision about allowing students to wear the bracelet until the administration allows the bracelets to be worn in school.

“We have a right to wear the bracelets in school,” Pierce said. “We’re not too immature to wear them. We want to show our support for the cause without them making us put up the bracelets or making us flip them over.”

CCMS Principal Scott Meihack said no parents have come to speak with him about students being upset about not being able to wear the bracelets.

“I haven’t even heard of any teachers having problems with students wearing the bracelet,” Meihack said. “This isn’t the first year we haven’t allowed the bracelets. We had some issues with them a few years ago and as a district we decided that they were too much of a distraction in the classroom for students to wear them.”

Meihack said there isn’t a rule in the dress code stating the bracelets are not allowed, but he said there is a rule that gives authority to the administration — if deemed necessary — if any item is a disruption or distraction from the educational process.

Allegations were made by students that teachers have been cutting the bracelets off but later admitted that has not happened this year. Meihack said he has never heard of teachers cutting the bracelets off and if that is true, a meeting will be held with the teacher(s) involved.

As of Tuesday, Elmore and others protesting the schools decision still had not contacted school officials to protest the school’s actions.