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The punishment was unnecessary.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Dec 14, 2022
A high school has come under fire after inflicting a harsh punishment against students on their graduation day.
A handful of students at Mackellar Girls Campus in Sydney, Australia, were left flabbergasted by the administration's decision to omit them from their graduation ceremony because they had broken the dress code for the event.
The high school banned 70 students from graduating because of their fake nails.
According to News AU, up to 70 students, mostly girls, were forbidden from crossing the stage and accepting their diploma — all because of how their nails looked.
Dozens of parents were left furious after learning that many of their children were denied entry into the main hall for the ceremony, and instead forced to wait in a separate room.
The mother of one of the barred students, Sarah, told the news outlet that many of the student's parents had taken time off work to attend the December 12 graduation event.
"No one had any idea where they were and the assembly started an hour later because they were disciplining the girls because of their nails," Sarah explained.
According to Manly Observer, the school had sent out an email to students prior to their graduation, writing that they were not to wear "brightly [colored] nails or fake eyelashes."
However, Sarah pointed out that many of the girls were attending their formal the day after graduation, and didn't want to remove their fake nails for the ceremony just to have them put back on for the dance.
Some of the students were eventually allowed back into the ceremony.
After some time, some of the students banned from their graduation were allowed back into the main hall, including Sarah's daughter, Chrissy.
Though, the girls were told to sit in the back of the assembly hall and their names were not read out.
"They pretended these girls didn't exist. At least acknowledge them," Sarah told News AU.
Of course, this is just another example of women's bodies and their attire being subjected to unfair policing and consequences.
Rarely do we ever see or hear similar stories where men are barred from their graduations or other events just from what they're wearing, or anything similar to how these high school girls were treated.
Sarah told the news outlet that she questioned why some of the teachers were allowed to wear bright red nails, yet her daughter and other girls were punished for their short acrylic nails.
"It's bullying and a form of intimidation, and [ostracizing] these girls, you can't do that in this day and age," Sarah pressed.
The president of the Northern Sydney District Council of P&C Associations, David Hope, told News AU that the high school didn't "have the powers to exclude those students because they had long fingernails."
He added that "the District will be in contact with the school" and they will take the matter up "with the Department of Education and the Education Minister."
However, a spokesperson for the Department stood by the high school's decision to ban their students, pointing out that they were warned in advance about what was and wasn't allowed.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.