The controversy this time involves a stud worn in the nose of 14-year-old Ariana Iacono at a high school in North Carolina. Wearing a stud in her nose is a violation of the district’s dress code, declared school officials, who have suspended her twice and have threatened a third.
Ariana and her mother are fighting back, though. They claim the school officials are sticking their noses where they don’t belong — into the family’s religious beliefs. They are, they say, members of the Church of Body Modification.
That is, by definition, an authentic religion, complete with ministers and tax exemptions. It was founded in 2008 and claims a national membership of approximately 3,500.
According to the religion’s website, “The Church of Body Modification is an interfaith church whose members practice an assortment of ancient body modification rites which we believe are essential to our spirituality.” Modifications include tattoos, piercings and other physical alterations as ways of experiencing the divine.
And, if that sounds a little goofy to you, well, there probably are things in your religion that sound goofy to others.
School officials in Johnston County have declined to comment publicly, citing student privacy laws. But, if they are like most school officials, I’m sure their explanation would be that strict enforcement of a dress code is essential to maintaining some semblance of order in schools and avoiding distractions that could hinder the educational process.
The importance of not being distracted shouldn’t be taken lightly, as I know from personal experience. The reason why I flunked 10th grade geometry can be directly linked to the fact that the girl who sat in the desk next to mine wore tight sweaters. Who knows how low my grade-point average might have been if she’d worn jewelry in her nose?
So I certainly sympathize with the school officials in North Carolina who have to know where to draw the line as they tread on the slippery slope of suitable school appearance.
Because if you let girls come to school with studs in their noses, the next you know they’ll be showing up with rings in their ears.
Contact D.L. Stewart at dlstew_2000@yahoo.com
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