VERNON – Grade 11 student at Vernon Secondary School (VSS), Adam Bade, is speaking out about what happened to him at school Tuesday.
He was wearing lipstick and a pink shirt that reads #babe.
That’s not out of the ordinary for him, but Tuesday happened to be picture day at school and he says he was asked by photographers to wipe off the lipstick he was wearing.
His classmate Joel Himmelspach stepped in.
Bade never retook the photos.
The principal at VSS Malcolm Reid says there is a larger context here: some other students were dressing “inappropriately”.
“We are talking about some derogatory stuff on their face. We are talking about one person actually rented a costume from a costume store that was really really silly,” says Reid. “We had to say you can’t do that.”
Reid says unfortunately students who were dressing the way they normally feel comfortable dressing got caught up and were also asked to change.
Adding that the responsibility for the confusion rests with the school.
“I can totally see based on a lot of the inappropriate stuff that was worn, that I need to deal with, how a misinterpretation could have happened and an accident,” says Reid.
Himmelspach says “I do understand where they are coming from and why they acted like they did but they still should not have brought in their own personal opinions. They should not have discriminated against my friend for wearing makeup especially because that is how he is on a weekly basis.”
The principal says there was no intention to discriminate.
“I did have some kids that left hurt yesterday and that left me feeling hurt but I can say honestly there was no intention of that. It was an honest mistake,” says Reid.
For his part Bade says he would like to chat with the photographers.
“Just for them to clarify what was going on with them that day, to get their perspective, and maybe just so we can talk and maybe get an apology from each other,” he adds.
It’s unclear if that meeting will be taking place.
The school will continue to talk over picture day events with students and is also planning to sit down with the photography company.
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