Looks like this high school senior may have to stick with wearing a generic cap-and-gown ensemble to his graduation this weekend.
New Hampshire native Brandon Garabrant had hoped to sport his Marine uniform at his high school graduation Saturday, after having completed Marine boot camp in South Carolina the day before. However, officials at ConVal Regional High School say Garabrant must wear the standard cap and gown, reports My Fox Boston.
Though he will be receiving his diploma this weekend, Garabrant officially finished high school earlier this year and participated in boot camp after his high school studies were complete, according to the outlet.
While Garabrant requested to wear his uniform as a celebration of his service, school officials spoke with the student council and faculty members with military ties and decided it would be best for everyone to dress the same. School officials did not want Brandon’s uniform to open the door for other graduation outfit requests, and also felt that the ceremony should be a display of unity, reports CBS Boston.
“I think this is a celebration of a class much like a celebration of a team, a group that’s been together,” said Principal Brian Pickering, according to the outlet.
The school told Garabrant that he would be allowed to wear his uniform under his gown, and that he could take off his gown as soon as he received his diploma. Local outlet WMUR-TV reports that Garabrant is not pleased with this option.
"I think covering up with a cap and gown is disgraceful to the uniform," Jessie Garabrant, Brandon’s mom, told WMUR. Still, she says her son will comply in a “worse-case [sic] scenario.”
Garabrant, who will be attending combat training after his graduation, has received support on both community and national levels. A message in the window of a local barbershop says, “Brandon deserves to wear his uniform.” Letters and emails to the family have also poured in from all over the country, according to My Fox Boston.
The uproar over Garabrant's uniform comes several weeks after Chelsey Ramer of the Poarch Creek Band of Indians was fined $1,000 for wearing an eagle feather on her high school graduation cap in Alabama.
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