Female student says she was booted from prom for wearing pants
By Will Lerner, Odd News April 23, 2014, 5:43 pm
Shafer Rupard is a student at Cherryville High School in North Carolina. On Saturday the high school held its prom at the Cherryville Golf & Country Club, and Ms Rupard went with friends.
They went inside and got on the dance floor. But the high school senior says that a teacher then approached her and asked her to leave. As WBTV 3 News reports, the reason the teacher gave is causing controversy.
Ms. Rupard had arrived to prom wearing red skinny jeans, and it appears that’s what caught the teacher’s ire.
She told WBTV, “The teacher tapped me on the shoulder and said she had a problem with what I was wearing. I thought it was because of the hat or the leather jacket and I was like, ‘Well, I'll take those off,’ and she was like no, ‘It's the pants.’"
Shafer Rupard says her pants got her banned from attending prom. Photo: WBTV
Shafer thinks being kicked out of her prom for wearing pants is “ridiculous.” Her mother, Shawn McQuaige, agrees.
Ms. McQuaige says she went to school officials to ask why her daughter was treated this way.
She says that the event invitation, Cherryville High’s student code of conduct book, and the Gaston County Schools code of conduct do not indicate there is any kind of dress code for the prom.
Shafer’s mother said that the school’s assistant principal, when presented with this information, said, “You know what? You're right there is no dress code here."
Cherryville High School in Cherryville, NC. Photo: Youtube
The student handbook does make a point to say, “Cherryville High School will develop a culture that is safe, nurturing, celebrates diversity and promotes school pride.”
McQuaige and Rupard say they have not received an apology or response from the school’s principal yet. WBTV tried to get in touch with school officials, but were unable to because Cherryville High is on spring break.
