OC HIGH STUDENT NEWS AND VIEWS : inline : Head to Head

As some teens headed back to school decked out in their favorite looks, they ran head-on into school rules:

* Danielle Kriegsman, 13, an eighth-grader in New Milford, Conn., strutted her stuff with a bright-pink hairdo on the first day of school. It caught some attention and a pink slip--a suspension.

School officials described Danielle’s hairdo--and the neon purple shade chosen by fellow student Jenn Samias--as distractions. They were ordered home and told to wear wigs or return their hair to its natural color.

Jenn relented and dyed hers back to blond, but Danielle vowed to keep her pink locks.

“I didn’t hurt anyone. I like my hair this way,� Danielle said. “I went to a concert a few weeks ago, and a lot of kids had it.�

The girl’s mother, Gina Satmary, said her daughter will be allowed to return but only to a special class for troubled students.

“That class is for kids who bring guns to school. She’s just an average kid who experimented with her hair.� Satmary said.

All sides are trying to work out a solution before it hits the courts.

* Meanwhile, in Ventura . . . John Spindler, 14, has been told he can’t wear his favorite T-shirt, which has an American flag and eagle emblem on it.

“It’s taking away my rights,� he said, after being sent home for the second day in a row after showing up in his flag shirt. The school adopted a stricter dress code--including a ban on any shirt with a logo on it-- after a fatal on-campus stabbing of a student.

Principal Don Gaudioso said he has no choice but to enforce the dress code, which also requires students to wear pants that stay up without a belt and knee-length shorts.

“It would be different if it was gang- or drug-related, but it’s an American flag. I think they’ve gone overboard,� said John’s mom, Ellen Spindler, who has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union about the flap.

Losing Ground

Probably without knowing it, you’ve been winning the struggle against gravity. Go ahead and savor the victory--for now.

Gravity governs the height and shape of our bodies, also dictating the size and shape of organs and limbs. In the aging process, sagging skin, varicose veins, arthritis and failing hearts all result partly from the losing battle against gravity.