Story Archive

Coverup

Lizzy Martinez, 17, went to the dean at Braden River High School in Manatee County, Fla., to report that she was being bullied. Dean Violeta Velazquez took quick action — to correct Martinez’s dress code violation: she wasn’t wearing a bra under her shirt. “She told me that I needed to put a shirt on under my long-sleeve shirt to try to tighten my breasts — to constrict them,” Martinez said. “And then she asked me to move around.” That wasn’t enough, the dean decided. Velazquez sent her to the nurse’s office to get four bandages to cover up better. The school district’s dress code reads, “You are expected to dress appropriately for school and for the business of learning with proper attention given to personal cleanliness, grooming and neatness.” Although there’s no mention of undergarments, the district's general counsel, Mitchell Teitelbaum, said Martinez violated the dress code by “distracting” other students. Martinez disagreed, and called for a “bra-cott” at the school. The school said they would have no further comment on the issue. (MS/Bradenton Herald, WWSB Sarasota) ...Because that would be a distraction.