Thank you for publishing Courtney Tanner’s story about students who were not allowed to wear cultural attire to graduation. More awareness, I’m sure, will help schools and facilities avoid these conflicts in the future. My district may not allow leis in the venue, but cultural attire is accepted.
I’m puzzled, though, by this claim buried in the June 18, 2018, story: “Some schools and venues have argued ... that fights break out over the money and candy versions of the necklaces.” Where is the evidence to support this claim? I have never heard of or seen people fight over candy and money leis. If administrators or facility operators are saying this, they should offer some sort of evidence that this happened. I would hope that journalists also would push back and ask for examples to support that type of claim.
The schools and venues may not have called out Polynesians specifically with that claim, but it is implied by the context of the story. That claim taken as fact without any evidence could lead readers to believe that Polynesians are thieves or violent or both.
Christine Yee, Murray