A high school senior in Washington State was suspended for wearing a T-shirt with the town's nickname -- Snohos.
Officials at Snohomish High School said the "SNOHOS" on Justin Patrick's T-shirt was derogatory toward women, even thought the school district Web site refers to the football team's "SnoHo" tradition and a local espresso stand is known as "Snoho Mojo."
"As a woman, I am sure that you can appreciate our desire in Snohomish to maintain respect for all members of our community, especially our young women, and to not allow the abbreviated form of our school name to be used to reference them as 'ho's,' " said district spokeswoman Shannon Parthemer, the Seattle Times reported.
Patrick and his friends said they have long called themselves the "Snohos," worn it emblazoned on their shirts, and never had run into trouble.
But school officials last month told Patrick his shirt violated the dress code. He was given a one-day suspension dress-code violation and a second day for "gross insubordination" for a verbal altercation with a security guard.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
