Gateway Students Asked to Remove Religious Headscarves

Two Gateway High School seniors left school Tuesday after school administrators asked the students to temporarily remove their headscarves because of tensions between students.Gateway School District Spokesperson Cara Zanella said the meeting between administrators, parents and students went well, and added there will be a follow-up meeting to arrange a conflict-resolution.

A dress code violation a few weeks ago had initiated the escalation between students. Zanella said a student wore a t-shirt that was labeled “R.I.P Israel”. She said some students took offense in the shirt, and as a result administrators asked the student to remove it.

Another student then wrote an article about the situation in a local newspaper, in which students had also complained. It was at that point that Muslim students felt unsafe at school. Zanella said the headscarves follow dress code rules; the t-shirt with the anti-Israeli sentiment does not.