Mercer v. Lothamer

321 F. Supp. 335, 32 Ohio Misc. 51
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJanuary 7, 1971
DocketNo. C-70-1123
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 321 F. Supp. 335 (Mercer v. Lothamer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mercer v. Lothamer, 321 F. Supp. 335, 32 Ohio Misc. 51 (N.D. Ohio 1971).

Opinion

Krupansky, District Judge.

Plaintiff students seek to permanently enjoin the principal of Grlenwood High School, the Superintendent and Board of Education of [52]*52the Plain Local School District from enforcing the provisions of the Plain Local Schools’ dress code, particularly that provision which concerns the acceptable length of hair for male students.

Jurisdiction of this court is invoked under Section 1343(3) and (4) of Title 28 and Section 1983 of Title 42, U. S. Code. Plaintiffs assert that the defendants have acted and threaten under color of law to deprive the plaintiffs of rights, privileges and immunities guaranteed them by the Constitution of the United States.

Plaintiffs, Gary Mercer, Marc Begberg and Bandy Bobins, are, respectively, 16, 16 and 17 years of age. They are all students at Glenwood High School, one of two senior high schools in the Plain Local School District, Canton, Ohio. The other high school within the school district is Oakwood High School.

Prom the evidence it appears that growing unrest among the high school students within the school district, arising from the long hair styles of a number of male members of the student body, prompted the creation of a study commission in May of 1970 charged with the mission of exploring and considering the merits of recommending to the Plain Local School District the promulgation of a student dress code designed to offer guidance and direction to the school community, as to the highly controversial matters of student dress and grooming. The testimony does not clearly indicate the manner in which the individual members of the committee were selected.

The committee, composed of six faculty representatives, three from each school, eight student representatives, four from each school, and four parent representatives, two from each of the high schools, convened during May of 1970 to accomplish its assigned task.

The evidence does not disclose any claim of imbalance in the representative membership of the committee as it was constituted.

Divergent views and opinions were freely expressed, discussed and exchanged by the members meeting as a committee of the whole and in subcommittee session. Sub[53]*53sequent to a vote upon each proposed recommendation, the committee delegated the drafting of its resolutions to an unidentified member.

Final written recommendations were presented to the Plain Local School District by the committee after having been circulated among and approved by its membership as to substance and accuracy.

On July 28, 1970, the District Board of Education adopted the committee’s recommendations as to the dress code and immediately thereafter mailed copies to all affected parents.

The dress code, introduced in evidence as Joint Exhibit No. 1, provides, in part, as follows:

“IV. Grooming
“A. Hair should be clean and appropriately groomed.
“B. Eccentric hairdos are not appropriate.
“C. Length of boys’ hair is not to cover the collar.
“D. Beards are not appropriate.
“E. Moustaches are to be neatly trimmed and not to extend below the lip line.
“F. Sideburns are to be neatly trimmed and not extend below the line of the mouth.”
‘ ‘ A dministration
“Homeroom teachers are to report those students whom they feel are not appropriately dressed or groomed.
“High school students, so identified, are to report immediately to an area designated for such by the building principal. A dress code panel, consisting of six students, appointed for such purpose by the student council and each serving for a period of no more than six weeks, and a faculty advisor, appointed by the building principal, will adjudge the validity of the report.
“If found to be appropriately dressed or groomed, the student will be permitted to return to class. If found not appropriately dressed or groomed, the student must meet the requirements of the dress code prior to returning to class. A student found not appropriately dressed or groomed by the panel may appeal such decision to the principal or assistant principal whose decision will be final.
[54]*54“Repeated refusal to comply with the provisions of the dress code is sufficient reason for suspension. Credit will not be allowed for those classes missed as a result of an infraction of the dress code.”

The proceedings of the student, faculty, parent dress code committee and the action of the Plain Local School District Board of Education in the promulgation of the dress code here in issue cannot be characterized as arbitrary or unreasonable.

On or about May 22, 1970, prior to the adoption of the present dress code, student unrest culminated in a student confrontation of long-haired males at Oakwood High School.

The principal of Oakwood testified that “several hundred students, in the neighborhood of 350 to 400 students at least,” gathered in the main hall of the school to shear a number of the surrounded longhaired students. Violence and injury were averted only by the foresight, planning and prompt, cooperative and decisive action of an alerted student leadership and faculty.

Prevailing student, parent and faculty apprehensions preceding the incident were evident from the principal’s unrefuted testimony. At least one parent requested permission to excuse the attendance of her child from school on the rumored day of the confrontation. An unspecified number of long-haired students as well as conventionally groomed, earnest, knowledge-seeking students, male and female alike, attempting to avoid involvement, left school for the day as the impending incident approached and climaxed. Other students sought refuge in the principal’s office. Forcible rescue of a number of long-haired students from the center of the disturbance was required by the principal and members of the faculty.

The events, emotional strains and threats preliminary to the incidents and the circumstances of the confrontation- itself were described by the principal of Oakwood High School as very disruptive to the education processes and the administration of the school.

A number of students testified that long hair worn [55]*55by male students had not resulted in classroom distractions.

School administrators appearing as witnesses testified that long hair as worn by some male students posed a serious safety hazard in the various industrial arts classes having enrollments in excess of 450 students.

Testimony further developed that reasonable dress code requirements were directly related to the educational processes of awakening an awareness in the students of the value and necessity for personal discipline and order as well as proper grooming and etiquette.

In any event, since the enactment of the dress code there has been no recurrence of an incident similar to the confrontation of May 22, 1970.

The evidence disclosed some dispute about the general acceptability of the code among students.

Thomas M.

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321 F. Supp. 335, 32 Ohio Misc. 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mercer-v-lothamer-ohnd-1971.