One Tie that Binds

According to one Maryland high school, religious beliefs trump cultural heritage. Thomas Benya was denied his high school diploma from Maurice J. McDonough High School because he planned to wear a bolo tie honoring his Cherokee roots. The school's principal decided that the bolo tie was not wide enough to be considered a tie.

Another student was allowed to deviate from the dress code due to religious beliefs. As reported in The Washington Post, "One senior girl wore a headscarf and long pants for religious reasons." This was viewed as acceptable because "the First Amendment protects religion, and we do everything possible to honor that."

Beyond being culturally insensitive, what really angers me about this incident is that religion is a choice while cultural heritage is not. People are free to believe or not believe what they want. A person can choose to be a devout believer or an atheist.

But none of us gets to choose who our forefathers and foremothers are. We are borne of this ethnic stock. While it is true that we can choose to honor or not honor our ethnicity, we can't change these cultural bonds.

So, a young woman who made a choice in her beliefs was granted a measure of leeway, while a young man who simply wanted to honor his ancestry was granted none.

Shame on the school district. Shame on America.