NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- A 15-year-old New York high school student said her free speech rights were violated when she was sent home for wearing a T-shirt reading, "I enjoy vagina."
Brianna Demato said she wore the T-shirt -- styled after the "Enjoy Coke" logo -- to Newton High School Tuesday and was sent home when she refused the assistant principal's demand that she change shirts, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.
"It's hypocritical," said the teenager, who said she has worn the shirt to school several times in the past. "They use the word in class -- why can't I, on a shirt?"
Cathy Demato, Brianna's mother, said she went to the school to defend her daughter, but the assistant principal had both of them escorted from the premises.
"They're discriminating against Brianna. They pulled her out of class for nothing," the mother said. "She's not hurting anyone. It's her right to wear that shirt."
The city Education Department said the mother and teen were not kicked out of the school, but rather left on their own.
"The language on the shirt was likely to cause disruption and the language is inappropriate for school," department spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said.
i can understand where they're coming from a freedom of speech standpoint, but to be brutally honest if i were in school or college and went in wearing that t-shirt i'd expect some authority to tell me it's inappropriate and/or to change it.
theres a time and a place for everything, and school definitely isn't the time or place to wear a t-shirt with the word "vagina" written clearly on it lmao regardless of sexual preference or interests or whatever
"They're discriminating against Brianna. They pulled her out of class for nothing," the mother said. "She's not hurting anyone. It's her right to wear that shirt."
It's not like anyone else in that school (or 99% of school systems in america) hasn't heard that word before. I see her point but honestly... wearing a shirt saying 'Vagina' at the age of 15 (so it must have been middle school, maybe freshman year high school) is pretty crazy. She should have known something was going to happen.
This girls needs to get a life and stop begging for attention. This isn't a matter of homophobia, just a child getting punished for wearing a clearly obscene shirt to school.
she's stupid for thinking no one would say anything about it
And this trash obviously got this **** at a spenser's or something like that, the shirt is obviously a joke not somekinda psa standing up for lesbians. attention *****
at the T-shirt.
