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| 2005-03-31 |
| An item on the Snohomish (WA) School District's Web site refers to the football team's "SnoHo" traditions. And "Snoho Mojo" is both a headline in the school yearbook and the name of a local espresso stand. But when Snohomish High senior Justin Patrick wore a T-shirt to school last month with the lettering "SNOHOS" across the front, it led to his suspension from school. School officials say "Snohos" contains a slang term for prostitutes and is derogatory toward women. "As a woman, I am sure that you can appreciate our desire in Snohomish to maintain respect for all members of our community, especially our young women, and to not allow the abbreviated form of our school name to be used to reference them as 'ho's,' " said district spokeswoman Shannon Parthemer, in response to an e-mail query about the suspension. Patrick and four friends say Snohos is their name for their tight group of friends and was coined four years ago when they started filming videos for fun. "We tried Snohomians, but that was too long," said Kyle Butcher. Another friend, Mac Stach, said they never considered the term derogatory. Until Patrick was sent to the office last month for not having a calculator in math class, he and his friends say no one had objected to the shirts that Butcher said they wear to school "all the time." Vice Principal Robynn Harrington told Patrick the shirt "didn't seem appropriate" for school and that he needed to cover it up. Patrick said that when he protested, Harrington called in another vice principal to confirm that the shirt violated the school dress code, which prohibits any display of words, pictures or references to alcohol, tobacco, weapons, guns or sexual innuendo. Frustrated, Patrick said he walked out of the office and returned to class. When he was called back by a security officer the next period and was again told to cover up the shirt, Patrick said he lost his temper and used "a few choice words." He got a one-day suspension for dress-code violation and sexual harassment and a second day for "gross insubordination." Patrick's father, Barry Patrick, regrets that his son lost his temper with a school official. But he also can't believe his son was suspended for adding an "s" to a common abbreviation. He showed administrators photocopies of the 2004 yearbook, where the word "Snoho" appears several times and one headline refers to students as "Snohomies." Legal experts say while students enjoy broad protections for political speech, schools may restrict dress or behavior that disrupts the educational environment. Stewart Jay, a constitutional-law scholar at the University of Washington, said courts generally defer to school administrators when it comes to determining what's offensive or indecent. But he said calling a word derogatory when it isn't aimed at any particular individual falls into a legal "gray area." In a show of solidarity, all four boys yesterday wore their "SNOHOS" shirts to school. Two were told to cover up the lettering, and they did. The other two boys' shirts went unnoticed, they said. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #10 I see. Some better tell Santa Claus that "Ho Ho Hos" are a nono |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2005-03-31 10:05:40 PM |
| #9 TGA: "Choice words" are words used specifically for strong effect. In this case "choice words" is a euphemism for swearing. |
| Posted by: mom 2005-03-31 10:00:08 PM |
| #8 Don't even try to wear a souvenir shirt from Soho (NY or London). As for shirts from Wessex or Sussex University... well.. perish the thought. But what on earth are "choice words"? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2005-03-31 9:13:01 PM |
| #7 I was married to an Eskimo for 20+ years. She has part of my retirement. End of story, heh. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-03-31 3:00:40 PM |
| #6 AP is correct |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-03-31 12:28:00 PM |
| #5 Betcha there's no Ho-ho's in the vending machines, either. |
| Posted by: longtime lurker 2005-03-31 11:55:47 AM |
| #4 C'mon, Paul! 10,000 drill sergeants can't be wrong! ;-) |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-03-31 11:44:51 AM |
| #3 LOL - you owe me a new keyboard A/P!!! |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2005-03-31 11:31:22 AM |
| #2 Dar---'Tis an arctic myth. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-03-31 11:30:16 AM |
| #1 I don't know but I been told, Eskimo... Oh, you know... |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-03-31 10:45:38 AM |