The Bodysparkle Blog

Fox13 Now Utah reported last week that a 12-year-old middle school student was suspended for her nose ring. According to the news item, Suzannah Pabla decided to get her nose pierced in honor of the Indian holiday of Diwali. When school officials spied her new adornment, they promptly suspended her for violating the school’s dress code.

“If it was religious, I think there would be a revisitation. Culturally, it’s very difficult,” [Davis School District spokesman Chris] Williams said, adding that the district does not allow students to wear leis at graduation because it’s tradition, not cultural.

Williams said the district did seek input about Hindu and Sikh faiths about their beliefs on piercings.

“She didn’t do it to rebel. She just wanted to be a part of her culture,” said Shirley Pabla, the girl’s mother, who is also a substitute teacher at Bountiful Jr. High. [Pabla argued that] “culturally, piercings are fairly common in India”… [and that] school officials and the community at large need to recognize the diversity that is there in the student body

Suzannah and her mother eventually agreed to swap out her flower stud for a clear piercing retainer. However, questions remain: Should school dress code policies be more lenient towards youngsters’ body piercings? Does it matter that Suzannah got the piercing to honor her heritage? Should piercings for religious or cultural reasons be allowed in schools? Tell us in the comments!