A New Zealand teenager was recently expelled from his Catholic high school for getting a tattoo of slain rapper Tupac Shakur on his forearm.
According to the IRN News, Zavier Bygrave, who got the tattoo with the permission of his mother, claims he was booted out of Sacred Heart College despite offering to wear a long-sleeved shirt to hide the tattoo.
Jim Dale, the school's principal who expelled the seventeen-year-old Bygrave, said the tattoo was "highly inappropriate" and "equated gross misconduct."
Richard Maddix, Zavier's grandfather, said the school's response shows how little regard they had for Zavier's education. He says his grandson needed only a few more credits to graduate.
Maddix also revealed that Zavier was told he had to stay at home until the tattoo was removed, a process which would take several months.
"(Dale's) using a boy's educational future to make a point," said Maddix.
The youngster's mother, Cindy Bygrave, revealed to the New Zealand Herald that she plans to file a complaint with the Education Ministry this week. She said her complaint to the ministry would be on the basis that her son's expulsion was discriminatory and breached his human right.
From: http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/10986
