Parents were outraged when up to 70 female students at a Sydney high school were prevented from attending their graduation festivities because they were sporting false nails.
The officials at Mackellar Girls Campus in Manly Vale barred the Year 10 students from attending this week’s end-of-year graduation ceremony because they had clear but false nails, shocking the parents of those girls.
Because their false nails violated the school’s rigorous dress code, the decision meant that a significant portion of the Year 10 cohort was forced to skip the ceremony and instead sit in a separate room for the graduation.
The mother of one of the girls who was ignored by staff said in an interview with news.com.au that the decision was unjust and alienated the children involved.
They acted as if these girls didn’t exist. At the very least, she added, recognize them.
The mother also questioned the “double-standard” that certain professors were permitted to wear bright red nails but pupils were discouraged from wearing basic acrylics.
Another parent referred to the decision by a publicly-funded local government school to exclude parents from attending their daughters’ graduation and award ceremonies as “simply horrible behavior.”
A Manly Observer Facebook post on the event received a significant response from the neighborhood, including past students of the school.
One person referred to the staff choice as “a really severe unwarranted punishment.”
“Common sense is required here,”
Another person described it as “very ludicrous” and “petty.”
Apparently they were transparent nails in any case! Not crimson or bright pink! I would be furious! After all they have experienced over the last several years. In my perspective, it’s simply horrible,” the remark said.
Part of Northern Beaches Secondary College in Manly Vale is the Mackellar Girls Campus, which is sponsored by the government.
All students have a right to be “treated with civility, fairness and respect,” according to the school’s website’s “Rules and Policies,” and to “enjoy achievement and recognition.”
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