NC teen: Nose ring more than fashion, it's faith
RALEIGH, N.C. – A soft-spoken 14-year-old's nose piercing has landed her a suspension from school and forced her into the middle of a fight over her First Amendment right to exercise her religion.
Ariana Iacono says she just wants to be a normal teenager at Clayton High School, about 15 miles southeast of Raleigh. She has been suspended since last week because her nose ring violates the Johnston County school system's dress code.
"I think it's kind of stupid for them to kick me out of school for a nose piercing," she said. "It's in the First Amendment for me to have freedom of religion."
Iacono and her mother, Nikki, belong to the Church of Body Modification, a small group unfamiliar to rural North Carolina, but one with a clergy, a statement of beliefs and a formal process for accepting new members.
It's enough to draw the interest of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has contacted school officials with concerns that the rights of the Iaconos are being violated by the suspension.
The Iaconos say the school system is ignoring its own dress code policy, which allows exemptions on religious grounds. The effect, Nikki Iacono, 32, says, is that Johnston County school officials are setting themselves up as judges of what constitutes a "real" religion.
"We pretty much flat-out asked them, what guidelines are you following? What do you need to establish a sincere religious belief?," she said. "We were told that if we were Hindu, or she were Muslim, it would be different."
On Tuesday, after her first suspension ended, Ariana went back to school with her mother — and her nose ring. She was suspended again, this time for five days. If she comes back to school on Sept. 21 with the nose stud, she'll face a 10-day suspension or referral to "alternative schooling," Nikki Iacono said.
A Johnston County schools spokeswoman declined to comment on the situation, saying it's against the law to publicly discuss a particular student's disciplinary matters.
Richard Ivey, the Iaconos' Raleigh-based minister in the church, believes it's a case of officials dismissing something unfamiliar.
"They're basically saying, because they don't agree and because they choose not to respect our beliefs, that it can't be a sincerely held religious belief," he said.
Ivey describes the church as a non-theistic faith that draws people who see tattoos, piercings and other physical alterations as ways of experiencing the divine.
"We don't worship the god of body modification or anything like that," he said. "Our spirituality comes from what we choose to do ourselves. Through body modification, we can change how we feel about ourselves and how we feel about the world."
The church claims roughly 3,500 members nationwide, having started about two years ago, after adopting the name of a similar group that had been dormant for several years.
Sally Gordon, a professor who focuses on Constitutional law and religious issues at the University of Pennsylvania, said schools have the right to issue neutral rules on dress as long as there's a good reason for it and it does not target a specific religion. But she said the school district could may run into a problem with its religious exemption.
The Johnston County schools dress code policy prohibits several types of facial jewelry but does allow officials to make accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs.
"One of the remarkable things about religious freedom is that people have all kinds of beliefs that look to others as bizarre but make internal sense to them," Gordon said. "We really can only claim to be a country that respects religious liberty if we respect the variety of beliefs that exist in the country — both new and old."
The Iaconos have contacted the North Carolina ACLU chapter for help, and legal director Katy Parker says the school is on shaky ground.
"We do think she has a right to wear her nose ring," Parker said.
Students' free expression rights are limited at schools, but Parker believes a legal category known as a "hybrid right" overrules those curbs. Essentially, the Iaconos are arguing that Ariana's right to free expression and Nikki's right to raise her daughter as she wishes are being abridged.
In 1999, a federal court in North Carolina ruled that the Halifax County school system had violated such hybrid rights of Catherine Hicks and her great-grandson by forcing the boy to wear a school uniform.
Hicks' religious beliefs held that uniformity is linked to the anti-Christ, a belief Halifax schools rejected. But the court ruled in her favor, and ordered the school system to include a religious exemption in its dress code policy.
A similar situation to the Iaconos' went to the courts in 2002, when a woman was fired from her job at a Costco store over her eyebrow ring. The woman was also a member of the Church of Body Modification, but the courts eventually ruled that her religious beliefs did not require her to always wear her jewelry.
The ACLU, like the Iaconos and their minister, hope their issue can be resolved without going to court. In the meantime, Nikki and Ariana pick up schoolwork for her to do at home while her peers sit in class.
"I hope they're going to stop suspending me and clear some of these absences from my record," Ariana said. "I want to get into a good college."
RALEIGH, N.C. – A soft-spoken 14-year-old's nose piercing has landed her a suspension from school and forced her into the middle of a fight over her First Amendment right to exercise her religion.
Ariana Iacono says she just wants to be a normal teenager at Clayton High School, about 15 miles southeast of Raleigh. She has been suspended since last week because her nose ring violates the Johnston County school system's dress code.
"I think it's kind of stupid for them to kick me out of school for a nose piercing," she said. "It's in the First Amendment for me to have freedom of religion."
Iacono and her mother, Nikki, belong to the Church of Body Modification, a small group unfamiliar to rural North Carolina, but one with a clergy, a statement of beliefs and a formal process for accepting new members.
It's enough to draw the interest of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has contacted school officials with concerns that the rights of the Iaconos are being violated by the suspension.
The Iaconos say the school system is ignoring its own dress code policy, which allows exemptions on religious grounds. The effect, Nikki Iacono, 32, says, is that Johnston County school officials are setting themselves up as judges of what constitutes a "real" religion.
"We pretty much flat-out asked them, what guidelines are you following? What do you need to establish a sincere religious belief?," she said. "We were told that if we were Hindu, or she were Muslim, it would be different."
On Tuesday, after her first suspension ended, Ariana went back to school with her mother — and her nose ring. She was suspended again, this time for five days. If she comes back to school on Sept. 21 with the nose stud, she'll face a 10-day suspension or referral to "alternative schooling," Nikki Iacono said.
A Johnston County schools spokeswoman declined to comment on the situation, saying it's against the law to publicly discuss a particular student's disciplinary matters.
Richard Ivey, the Iaconos' Raleigh-based minister in the church, believes it's a case of officials dismissing something unfamiliar.
"They're basically saying, because they don't agree and because they choose not to respect our beliefs, that it can't be a sincerely held religious belief," he said.
Ivey describes the church as a non-theistic faith that draws people who see tattoos, piercings and other physical alterations as ways of experiencing the divine.
"We don't worship the god of body modification or anything like that," he said. "Our spirituality comes from what we choose to do ourselves. Through body modification, we can change how we feel about ourselves and how we feel about the world."
The church claims roughly 3,500 members nationwide, having started about two years ago, after adopting the name of a similar group that had been dormant for several years.
Sally Gordon, a professor who focuses on Constitutional law and religious issues at the University of Pennsylvania, said schools have the right to issue neutral rules on dress as long as there's a good reason for it and it does not target a specific religion. But she said the school district could may run into a problem with its religious exemption.
The Johnston County schools dress code policy prohibits several types of facial jewelry but does allow officials to make accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs.
"One of the remarkable things about religious freedom is that people have all kinds of beliefs that look to others as bizarre but make internal sense to them," Gordon said. "We really can only claim to be a country that respects religious liberty if we respect the variety of beliefs that exist in the country — both new and old."
The Iaconos have contacted the North Carolina ACLU chapter for help, and legal director Katy Parker says the school is on shaky ground.
"We do think she has a right to wear her nose ring," Parker said.
Students' free expression rights are limited at schools, but Parker believes a legal category known as a "hybrid right" overrules those curbs. Essentially, the Iaconos are arguing that Ariana's right to free expression and Nikki's right to raise her daughter as she wishes are being abridged.
In 1999, a federal court in North Carolina ruled that the Halifax County school system had violated such hybrid rights of Catherine Hicks and her great-grandson by forcing the boy to wear a school uniform.
Hicks' religious beliefs held that uniformity is linked to the anti-Christ, a belief Halifax schools rejected. But the court ruled in her favor, and ordered the school system to include a religious exemption in its dress code policy.
A similar situation to the Iaconos' went to the courts in 2002, when a woman was fired from her job at a Costco store over her eyebrow ring. The woman was also a member of the Church of Body Modification, but the courts eventually ruled that her religious beliefs did not require her to always wear her jewelry.
The ACLU, like the Iaconos and their minister, hope their issue can be resolved without going to court. In the meantime, Nikki and Ariana pick up schoolwork for her to do at home while her peers sit in class.
"I hope they're going to stop suspending me and clear some of these absences from my record," Ariana said. "I want to get into a good college."
If you are from Betelgeuse, please have one of your Earth friends read what I've written before you respond. Or try concentrating harder.
"The trophy problem has become extreme."
"The trophy problem has become extreme."
This message last edited by Sareitha Sedai on 17/09/2010 at 04:05:19 PM
Curious to hear your thoughts on this.
17/09/2010 04:00:52 PM
- 774 Views
Hmm. A tough one for me as there are a few elements to it
17/09/2010 04:36:49 PM
- 296 Views
Re: Hmm. A tough one for me as there are a few elements to it
17/09/2010 04:56:53 PM
- 376 Views
Re: Hmm. A tough one for me as there are a few elements to it
17/09/2010 05:11:16 PM
- 353 Views
How do they handle a Sikh's dagger?
17/09/2010 05:26:29 PM
- 275 Views
i doubt it's something that'll come up
17/09/2010 05:30:00 PM
- 262 Views
I believe they do that anyway. It's not as if they ever take it out, anyway. *NM*
17/09/2010 05:33:32 PM
- 112 Views
Not in the US, no.
19/09/2010 12:40:37 AM
- 277 Views
no idea. I referred to the US because that's where the article took place, though. *NM*
19/09/2010 04:12:22 AM
- 109 Views
Actually, Wikipedia says it has come up in the US and Canada both.
19/09/2010 03:28:40 PM
- 268 Views
this is not a religouis issue
17/09/2010 06:07:44 PM
- 310 Views
Short answer would be yes... but I'll wait for you to prove
18/09/2010 12:32:39 AM
- 308 Views
you can't "prove" evolution but I would guess you still think it is true
18/09/2010 04:36:45 PM
- 268 Views
I think she's a little nuts, but kicking her out of school seems silly. *NM*
17/09/2010 05:06:54 PM
- 133 Views
I'm not exactly sure what I feel about the religious connotations
17/09/2010 05:27:16 PM
- 249 Views
I live on the outskirts of Raleigh. First thought: "I bet this happened in Johnston County."
17/09/2010 06:48:41 PM
- 269 Views
17/09/2010 07:19:49 PM
- 333 Views
Headline: "Supreme executive, judicial, and legislative powers to be vested in Aemon, and Sareitha."
17/09/2010 07:31:49 PM
- 271 Views
You have to admit it has a nice ring to it.
17/09/2010 07:32:56 PM
- 277 Views
When I come to power, I'll be sure to remember you both for executive positions.
20/09/2010 01:51:08 PM
- 327 Views
I think dress codes, in general, are absurd in any case, so... *NM*
17/09/2010 10:48:11 PM
- 107 Views
Could anyone please explain the reasoning behind banning body piercings?
18/09/2010 12:00:00 AM
- 290 Views
schoolsprobably have lots of rules you don't like
18/09/2010 12:36:24 AM
- 291 Views
It wasn't the end to the world but it did instill a disrespect for arbitrary rules. Leg warmers were
18/09/2010 01:11:36 AM
- 308 Views
Utter crap, religion of convenience, has anyone looked at their twisted little doctrine?
18/09/2010 12:10:15 AM
- 276 Views
It seems obvious to me that they are fetishists hiding behind religion. Lame pussies. *NM*
18/09/2010 04:29:10 AM
- 112 Views