By: Bowen Wang

Students ranging from colleges to middle schools have been treated unfairly because of the color of their hair and for not wearing their correct uniform. Many students are pushing for more recognition of their rights and are standing up for their individuality. Uniforms and hair colors continue to cause lots of friction and many problems at schools.

Many teachers say that students cannot dye their hair bright colors. Schools have started a policy that says that all “non-natural hair colors” are banned at their schools. This policy has infuriated students who claim it is basically discrimination. At Melbourne’s Mordialloc College, a boy has been ejected from class and secluded from his friends and classmates over his dyed hair. He also dyed it to spark discussions about youth mental health, a cause he is zealous about. This is just one example of discrimination based on hair color out of the many.

Many students also had issues with uniform policies. In some schools, more than 100 students have been punished for wearing regular black pants instead of the black trousers designated by the official uniform. Their punishment involved being sent to other classrooms or offices, isolated from their classmates. A girl named Piper, 17, said her school had been unyielding on its new uniform policy, which was called “RE SET.” She thought it was reasonable because lots of people were doing it, and that if students’ clothes matched the colors of the uniforms, it doesn’t matter whether the clothes have the school logo or not.

Overall, students have become enraged at schools for being too picky about the specific details of uniforms and hair. Teachers have created policies to try and limit the individuality of their students. Many students think that the rules are discriminatory.