A 12th-grader at a Texas high school who grew his hair out in memory of beating cancer is now being told by heartless school officials to cut his hair, even though he sees his long locks as “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 intensive chemotherapy.
After beating the disease, Sampson decided to grow his hair to celebrate his miraculous survival.
Since then, the young high school student has not been able to do it again.
A Texas high school student who grew his hair in memory of beating cancer is now being asked by callous school officials to cut it off
At the end of his freshman year, Trent Sampson was diagnosed with cancer and, after intensive chemotherapy, lost all of his hair.
“Whenever it started growing again, it was kind of a sign of survival for him,” Jodie Sampson, Trent’s mother, told KXII.
But the Valley View Independent School District is cracking down on its students and enforcing its new dress code that prohibits male students from having long hair.
The young cancer survivor now has to make an important decision: either cut his hair or leave the school district he calls home.
By telling school officials about Trent’s heroic recovery, the teenager and his family tried to persuade district officials to make an exception. They asked for a compromise.
But the district refused to give in and instead stuck to the dress code changes that went into effect in July.
The Valley View Independent School District is cracking down on its students and enforcing its new dress code that prohibits male students from having long hair.
“We tried talking to the principal and the school board and asking, ‘Can we just tie it up in a bun or put it up in a ponytail?'” Trent’s mother said.
“We were told no,” she continued.
In July, Trent’s family received an email from Superintendent Jason Womack, who remained firm on the dress code issue.
He wrote: “The intent of the updated dress code is to promote a conservative, modest learning environment.”
But the school wasn’t always so meticulous about the rules. Deanna Vickery, whose children and grandchildren attended the school district, said:
“My children were allowed to wear long hair at school, but now he’s not allowed to?”
Trent said he won’t cut his hair no matter what it costs.
“My hair is curly at the ends, I really like it and I don’t want to lose it,” he told KXII.
He added: “It’s from the chemo and can’t grow back.”
Trent has said he will not cut his hair no matter what it costs
The cancer survivor is likely to be supported in his resistance to the school administration by other students at the school.
“Trent is a great philanthropist, everyone at school would fight for him and that’s exactly what we do,” says his classmate Jarethy Vickery, who also has long hair.
Vickery added that he would not cut his hair with scissors either.
“I imagine it’ll end with them changing the dress code, and if that doesn’t work, damn it, I’ll probably spend my senior year at the ISS or OSS or wherever they send me.”
