A Boonsboro High School student was not allowed to attend her graduation ceremony Tuesday night due to concerns about her makeup, leaving the 18-year-old and her family “heartbroken” on the big day.
Nixx Cabrera-Guy is an aspiring piercer and tattoo artist and is the first person on her father’s side of the family to graduate from high school. She said Boonsboro High principal Michael Kuhaneck told her she had to remove her makeup or she wouldn’t be able to sit with her fellow students or walk on stage during the ceremony.
“He said, ‘You can’t walk, you can’t sit. It’s either you take it off or you go,'” Cabrera-Guy recalled.
Cabrera-Guy and her family left the ceremony after she was told she could not attend.
Cabrera-Guy said she is a “very creative” person who is known at school for her expressive makeup looks. She said this look was much more toned down than some of her other looks worn to school events, where she painted intricate details on top of the white makeup base. At graduation, Cabrera-Guy applied only eyeliner and lipstick over the white base.
“It’s part of my identity, it’s part of how the school knew me and how I knew myself and had never been a problem before,” Cabrera-Guy said. “I’d rather walk on stage as someone who is really me, than as someone they’re trying to hide.”
District says it wasn’t aware enough to study “symbolism behind makeup.”
Cabrera-Guy said Kuhaneck told her her makeup needed “pre-approval” before it could be worn at graduation. However, she said she wore similar makeup at school, during dances, spirit weeks and on typical school days.
Kuhaneck did not respond to a phone call before publication, but in a statement to The Herald-Mail, Washington County Public Schools and Boonsboro High said Cabrera-Guy was not allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony due to concerns about the “symbolism of the devising.”
“The student was asked to remove the makeup because the school was not aware enough to investigate the symbolism behind the makeup,” the statement said. “There were concerns about cultural considerations and disruptions to the graduation ceremony.”
Cabrera-Guy said she didn’t know she needed prior approval for the makeup. An email to Boonsboro High graduates stated that students were required to wear an unadorned cap and gown over business casual attire, no jeans or sneakers, and shoes they could walk in.
The Washington County Public School dress code does not provide specific information or guidelines regarding makeup, but states that both permanent and temporary “body art” that violates administrative regulations or disrupts the “educational setting” must be fully covered, even on district-sponsored and school buildings. -sanctioned events. The student handbook does not mention approval of makeup or body art.
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‘I’ll never get that moment back’
Cabrera-Guy said she and her family were “heartbroken” that she could not walk. Her father and his family, who are from Guatemala, were especially devastated.
“[My dad] really tried to see me take the stage, as well as my whole family from Guatemala and the rest of the US,” Cabrera-Guy said. “And the school was aware of that, but they still ripped that whole opportunity away from me.”
Cabrera-Guy said she got good grades and was involved in school culture, planning spirit weeks and helping on several Boonsboro High committees.
“I will never get that moment back, which really sucked because the school knew how important this was to me and my family,” Cabrera-Guy said. “The career path I will be on will not have another graduation ceremony, so I will never again have the opportunity to walk on a stage or celebrate my graduation with a class or with my friends while my family watches.”
This article originally appeared in The Herald-Mail: Maryland senior told to drop out of high school because of makeup
