‘Virginity Rocks’ shirt unacceptable at school, it may be ‘disruptive’
Ramay Junior High School in Fayetteville, Arkansas made headlines and landed in the epicenter of controversy by asking a teen girl to change out of her “Virginity Rocks” t-shirt.
Eighth-grader Chloe Rubiano of Ramay says she got the tee at a Christian festival last year; on the back, it continues its abstinence message: “I’m loving my Husband and I haven’t even Married Him.”
“I just really liked this shirt because I was always raised that way,” Rubiano told CNN affiliate KFSM. She said she was pulled out of class and given a gym shirt to change into because the message on her shirt “opens up too many doors for conversations” about sexual activity.
“It’s a positive message,” said Bambi Crozier, Chloe’s mom. “She had the shirt for several years at wore it a number of times to school,” she told Todd Starnes of Fox News.
“Why is it such a bad thing to talk about virginity when they’re handing out condoms and girls are pregnant?” Crozier wondered in the article. “It blows my mind.”
Check out the photo of the shirt below.
Rubiano’s mother took to Facebook to write a lengthy post defending her daughter’s wardrobe choice, stating she has always encouraged her children to stand up for what they believe in.
She ends the post with: “Virginity is not a dirty word. Wouldn’t it be great if it weren’t treated as such?”
Fayetteville School District Superintendent Paul Hewitt said, whatever the message, the school was simply adhering to its rules about writing on clothing.
“If a student wore a shirt that said ‘Sex Rocks’ or ‘Smoke More Pot,’ they would also have been asked to remove it for the same reason; it would no doubt be disruptive,” he wrote in an email to CNN. “Even positive messages can be disruptive and our schools must be fair and consistent in dealing with all our students.”
As for concerns over free speech, Hewitt said Rubiano’s message has come through loud and clear.
“Just the attention this incident has been given has certainly given the student and her mother the attention they sought. This is not a major free speech issue,” according to Hewitt.
“I suspect this is a common issue in junior high and high schools throughout the nation.”
Last year, a Florida school told a girl to change her pro-abstinence shirt, so this isn’t the “first time” – check out that story HERE
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