I would like to remind my friends on the Scotland County School Board that, for a brief period in the 1980s, Scotland High School graduation had an academic processional with the faculty dressed in the caps and gowns of their colleges.

Although the caps and gowns were all black they were cut differently to show different degrees and they were decorated with all the different colors of the schools the faculty attended. Even though these differences were far more noticeable than an eagle feather, no one objected to the diversity.

Still, I completely understand the position of the school board. Those who have not worked with adolescents – and their parents – have no idea at all what five students can decide is the moral and legal equivalent of American Indian eagle feathers. The probability of endless discussions and arguments over whether or not this organization is just as deserving as eagle feathers for American Indian graduates would boggle the mind.

All in all, though, I think when a call for “uniformity” results in reducing everything and everybody to the lowest common denominator, the policy needs serious revision.

Jim Jordan

Laurinburg