Teh One Who Knocks
10-25-2017, 11:05 AM
By Trisha Powell Crain - AL.com
https://i.imgur.com/LR9bBT3.jpg
Spain Park senior Macie Joines just wants to cheer the football team during the school's homecoming game, from the sidelines, "painted up" in spirit paint like her fellow male classmates.
Joines said she had painted up for a previous football game, and while her male counterparts were shirtless, she wore a sports bra.
But this time, school administrators said no, Joines said. Why? Because she's a girl.
Joines said three male school administrators said she could paint up as long as she wore a T-shirt. They told her they were looking out for her and didn't want her to suffer repercussions, but didn't explain what repercussions they were concerned about.
Joines' father, Scott, said he supports his daughter, "but I also support the school administration. I have 100 percent certainty that they're looking out for my kid's interest. I don't doubt that for one second."
Saying he felt stuck in the middle, Scott said, "I'm going to fall on the side of Macie having the same rights as everybody else."
Scott and Joines' mother, Kandi, have three daughters. They both said that makes them acutely aware of equality issues.
Kandi said she supports her daughter because, "one, it's important to her, and two, we want to raise women that are strong and independent and are going to stand up for what we believe is right."
https://i.imgur.com/QzBTWB8.jpg
"Let's be realistic," Kandi said. "Girls play sports with boys now. Boys are cheerleaders. It's really about a gender thing. It's not about anything else."
With her mother's encouragement, Joines started a petition on change.org five days ago that had gotten more than 530 signatures by Tuesday morning.
Joines delivered the petition with 505 signatures on it to school administrators on Monday morning, but hadn't yet gotten any response, she said.
At Spain Park High School, as at many high schools, students paint their bodies head to toe as part of what Joines called a spirit squad. The squad is separate and independent from the school, she said.
Joines said this all started because a friend told her the guys wouldn't let girls paint up, telling them it was a male tradition and they'd waited for this opportunity for a long time.
She said she immediately recognized it as gender discrimination. "It shouldn't be happening," she said.
Joines said a group of girls decided to paint up on their own for the Spain Park - Hoover game in mid-September. As some of the boys found about it, she said, they continued to push back, and ultimately Joines found herself to be the only girl willing to paint up for the big rivalry game.
Joines said some of the traditionally-male squad was supportive.
She stood alone, but right up front, she said, and no one from the school questioned her attire.
When Homecoming Week came a few weeks later, Joines and a friend again asked the squad if they could join them in painting up. The reply: if administration said it was okay, that was fine with them.
Joines' mother, Kandi, said she recommended Macie talk with school administrators but Macie said that wasn't productive.
Joines said a number of her teachers support her, but only one had signed the petition so far.
Here's what the petition says:
"I am a student in high school in Hoover, Alabama. I think that women should be allowed to participate as equally in any sport or organization that men do. My administration has told me that I am not allowed to paint up for football games in a sports bra, like the guys in my grade often do shirtless. I am a member of national honors society, an academic letterman with cross swords award, and on the board of several clubs. I am extremely involved within my school and community. All I want to do is support my team by painting up in a sports bra for football games, but I am not allowed because I am a girl."
Tuesday afternoon, Hoover City Schools spokesperson Jason Gaston said a request has been made to review the decision made by school administrators, and they are in the process of doing so.
For her part, Kandi wants her daughter to be able to have a great senior year, saying, "She wants to be part of a tradition that is going on, as a student, at the high school."
Acknowledging that the paint covers more than some school dance uniforms do, Kandi said, "I think if she wants to be able to enjoy this part of the football game in her senior year, she should be able to do it."
Macie hopes to be able to paint up for the football game this Friday, showing support for both her team and for breast cancer awareness. She said some of her friends plan to join her.
"We're high schoolers just trying to show our school spirit as equally as the males in our grade are," Macie said.
https://i.imgur.com/LR9bBT3.jpg
Spain Park senior Macie Joines just wants to cheer the football team during the school's homecoming game, from the sidelines, "painted up" in spirit paint like her fellow male classmates.
Joines said she had painted up for a previous football game, and while her male counterparts were shirtless, she wore a sports bra.
But this time, school administrators said no, Joines said. Why? Because she's a girl.
Joines said three male school administrators said she could paint up as long as she wore a T-shirt. They told her they were looking out for her and didn't want her to suffer repercussions, but didn't explain what repercussions they were concerned about.
Joines' father, Scott, said he supports his daughter, "but I also support the school administration. I have 100 percent certainty that they're looking out for my kid's interest. I don't doubt that for one second."
Saying he felt stuck in the middle, Scott said, "I'm going to fall on the side of Macie having the same rights as everybody else."
Scott and Joines' mother, Kandi, have three daughters. They both said that makes them acutely aware of equality issues.
Kandi said she supports her daughter because, "one, it's important to her, and two, we want to raise women that are strong and independent and are going to stand up for what we believe is right."
https://i.imgur.com/QzBTWB8.jpg
"Let's be realistic," Kandi said. "Girls play sports with boys now. Boys are cheerleaders. It's really about a gender thing. It's not about anything else."
With her mother's encouragement, Joines started a petition on change.org five days ago that had gotten more than 530 signatures by Tuesday morning.
Joines delivered the petition with 505 signatures on it to school administrators on Monday morning, but hadn't yet gotten any response, she said.
At Spain Park High School, as at many high schools, students paint their bodies head to toe as part of what Joines called a spirit squad. The squad is separate and independent from the school, she said.
Joines said this all started because a friend told her the guys wouldn't let girls paint up, telling them it was a male tradition and they'd waited for this opportunity for a long time.
She said she immediately recognized it as gender discrimination. "It shouldn't be happening," she said.
Joines said a group of girls decided to paint up on their own for the Spain Park - Hoover game in mid-September. As some of the boys found about it, she said, they continued to push back, and ultimately Joines found herself to be the only girl willing to paint up for the big rivalry game.
Joines said some of the traditionally-male squad was supportive.
She stood alone, but right up front, she said, and no one from the school questioned her attire.
When Homecoming Week came a few weeks later, Joines and a friend again asked the squad if they could join them in painting up. The reply: if administration said it was okay, that was fine with them.
Joines' mother, Kandi, said she recommended Macie talk with school administrators but Macie said that wasn't productive.
Joines said a number of her teachers support her, but only one had signed the petition so far.
Here's what the petition says:
"I am a student in high school in Hoover, Alabama. I think that women should be allowed to participate as equally in any sport or organization that men do. My administration has told me that I am not allowed to paint up for football games in a sports bra, like the guys in my grade often do shirtless. I am a member of national honors society, an academic letterman with cross swords award, and on the board of several clubs. I am extremely involved within my school and community. All I want to do is support my team by painting up in a sports bra for football games, but I am not allowed because I am a girl."
Tuesday afternoon, Hoover City Schools spokesperson Jason Gaston said a request has been made to review the decision made by school administrators, and they are in the process of doing so.
For her part, Kandi wants her daughter to be able to have a great senior year, saying, "She wants to be part of a tradition that is going on, as a student, at the high school."
Acknowledging that the paint covers more than some school dance uniforms do, Kandi said, "I think if she wants to be able to enjoy this part of the football game in her senior year, she should be able to do it."
Macie hopes to be able to paint up for the football game this Friday, showing support for both her team and for breast cancer awareness. She said some of her friends plan to join her.
"We're high schoolers just trying to show our school spirit as equally as the males in our grade are," Macie said.