News Story 1

The school board votes Monday at 7 pm on whether to overturn principal Tonya King’s ruling on a student’s request to grow his hair out for charity.

The student council retrieved “350 student signatures in a letter written to the School Board.” These students support Stack and his goal to grow and donate his hair, 150 of these students will do the same, of which 78 are males.

“The letter was well written and had some good points,” said Bill Valdez, school board president. He had no comment on the situation.

“We desperately need human hair for our wigs,” president of the Locks of Love organization Gisel Roco said. The group produces and gives wigs to kids who lose their hair to chemotherapy treatments. Roco says that of 200 requests for wigs, she has to turn 150 away because they didn’t have enough hair.

 “[Jasmine] was embarrassed to leave the house before the wig, and she was depressed all the time,” said Holly Stack, Jim Stack’s mother. “The wig made all the difference in the world to Jasmine,” she said. Holly is in full support of Jim’s efforts to support Locks of Love.

“[Stack] told me he felt helpless throughout the whole ordeal. He didn’t think there was any way to help,” said Gilbert Castillo, the student council president. He said “rules are made to be broken, and this is a very good reason to break one.”

“Had I approved Jim’s request, then i would have students every day asking if they also could break the  dress code,” said Tonya King, “the school would be in chaos then.” King denied Jim’s initial request, but said she is “more than willing to help with a fundraiser.”

“I was disappointed Mrs.King turned my request down,” Stack said.  “A lot of people donate money. Not very many donate hair.”