KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - School and Girls React To T-Shirt Ban
Member Center:
by Tracy Crockett
It's an idea to raise money for breast cancer awareness, the plan of a pair of high school seniors. Now one of their designs has been banned from their school.
The T-shirt says "Save 2nd Base" and the school says it violates dress code.
Each year seniors at Salina Central High School choose a service project. This year Jessica Sheahon and Haley Wenthe decided to raise money for breast cancer research.
"It really hits close to home both of our mothers had breast cancer and we just wanted a way that, we just wanted to pick a issue that is really prevalent today," says Sheahon.
"To me it's just something in honor of her memory and I know she would be extremely proud of," says Wenthe. That's the reason the two started selling T-shirts.
Sheahon says, "We thought that would be a great way to market to kids and get them thinking about breast cancer."
However, the school disagreed, they were told they couldn't sell them or wear them on campus.
"The T-shirt in question included a sexual innuendo that we felt was inappropriate for school, it was not a message we wanted to convey in school," says Salina Central High School Principal Stan Vaughn.
Vaugn says the school supports what the students are doing, however it cannot endorse the T-shirt. Some of the students we spoke to disagree.
"I think that if girls can wear shirt shirts that imply sexual message they should be able to wear breast cancer shirts, their trying to do it for a good cause," says senior Jennifer Lashelle.
"It promotes a great cause in a light hearted way rather than putting this many women die a year from breast cancer," says senior Cassie Werner.
Senior Elliot Schrader says, "It's kind of sad the administration has neglected to see how important it and how the T-shirts kind of a useful tool to get the word out."
Despite not being able to sell the shirts at Friday nights football game these shirts are selling like hot cakes, just after school the girls got home and found 400 order waiting on their email account. The girls are trying to keep up with all the orders.
The phrase "Save 2nd Base" has been used on T-shirts before. A Pennsylvania group started using it to raise breast cancer awareness there.
