Last week, the Oklahoma legislature – one of the most conservative and draconian legislative bodies in the civilized world – sent SB 429 to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt for his signature.
Clearing both houses by a 99% margin, the law would allow indigenous Oklahoma high school students the opportunity to wear tribal regalia during high school and college graduation ceremonies.
Since the bill passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support in a state that’s home to 38 federally recognized tribal nations, Kevin Stitt – a man who wears whatever he wants to graduation ceremonies – naturally vetoed the bill.
Yep, Stitt the Hypocrite strikes again!
Here’s his reasoning via The Oklahoman_:
Stitt said he believed local districts should be allowed to set their own dress codes for graduation, according to a letter sent to state lawmakers explaining his rejection of Senate Bill 429.
“Should this bill become law, the proverbial Pandora’s box will be opened for other groups to go over the heads of local superintendents and demand special favor to wear whatever they please at a formal ceremony,” Stitt wrote.
I will say this…
Stitt kind of has a point here. Right or wrong, if you’re going to let one group of students decorate their graduation regalia to honor their cultural traditions, we might as well let everyone, right???
That’s why I say it’s time we smash open Pandora’s box and pass emergency legislation letting students decorate their caps, gowns, and other graduation regalia however the hell they want! Whether it’s a cross, eagle feather, or a Pastafarian spaghetti strainer, all students should have the right to pay tribute to whatever heritage, religion, or interests they please as they take that treasured anti-climatic walk across the stage.
Seriously, who says no?
Conservatives are all about “school choice” and “academic freedom,” so you’d think they’d be for anything that lets students choose to wear what they want at graduation.
They’re also against “indoctrination” – or at least their warped interpretation of it – and I can’t think of anything more indoctrinating than forcing all graduating seniors to wear the same outfit, march in unison, and then listen to other people lecture them about the future for an hour.
Anyway, we’ll continue to monitor the original bill to see if the legislature overrides it. Until then, stay with The Lost Ogle.
