A Texas high school senior who grew his hair long in honor of his victory over cancer is now being told by insensitive school officials to cut it off, even though he considers his long locks “his symbol of survival.”
At the end of his freshman year, Trent Sampson was diagnosed with cancer and subsequently lost all of his hair after undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatment.
After beating the disease, Sampson decided to grow his hair to celebrate his miraculous survival.
The young high school student has not been able to survive since then.
A Texas high school senior who grew his hair long in memory of his victory over cancer is now being told by insensitive school officials to cut it off
At the end of his freshman year, Trent Sampson was diagnosed with cancer and lost all of his hair after undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatment
“When it started growing back, it was kind of a survival badge for him,” said Jodie Sampson, Trent’s mother. KXII.
But the Valley View Independent School District is taking a tougher approach to its students, enforcing its new dress code, which bans male students from having long hair.
The young cancer patient now has to make an important decision: he has to cut his hair or he has to leave the school where he lives.
Sharing Trent’s heroic recovery with school officials, the teen and his family attempted to petition district officials to make an exception, asking for a compromise.
But the district refused to budge and instead upheld the dress code changes that went into effect in July.
Valley View Independent School District is taking tough action against its students and enforcing its new dress code, which bans male students from having long hair
“We tried to talk to the principal and the superintendent and said, ‘Can we just put it in a bun or a ponytail?’” Trent’s mother said.
“We were told it wasn’t allowed,” she continued.
In July, Trent’s family received an email from school principal Jason Womack, who remained adamant about the dress code issue.
He wrote: “The purpose of the modified dress code is to support a conservative, modest learning environment.”
But the school wasn’t always so strict with the rules. Deanna Vickery, who has children and grandchildren who went through the school district, said:
‘My children were allowed to have long hair when they were in school, but now he’s not allowed to have that anymore?’
Trent has said he won’t cut his hair, no matter what the cost.
“My hair is curly at the ends, and I really like that, and I don’t want to lose that,” he said KXII.
He added: ‘It’s from the chemo and it can never grow back.’
Trent has said he won’t cut his hair no matter what the cost
The cancer patient will likely be supported by other students at school in his resistance to the management.
“Trent is a very social person. Everyone at that school would fight for him, and that’s what we do,” said fellow senior Jarethy Vickery, who also has long hair.
Vickery added that he also wouldn’t use scissors on his hair.
“I think it’s going to end up with them changing the dress code. And if that doesn’t work out, I’ll just go to ISS or OSS or wherever they put me for my last year.”