Kayleigh Craddock, a former Texas homecoming queen, will not be allowed to crown her successor at Brazosport High School because of her graduation ceremony gown, which included a stole reflecting her Mexican origin.
Despite being the reigning queen, her previous high school in Freeport, Texas, has denied her the right to continue an age-old tradition of naming the new Homecoming Queen.
Cynthia Vasquez, Kayleigh Craddock’s mother, said her daughter’s joy about returning to Brazosport High School to crown the next Homecoming Queen changed to disappointment when they received a call from the school principal.
She went on to say that Craddock’s family was told she wouldn’t be able to attend homecoming because she wore a stole reflecting her Mexican background during her graduation ceremony in May.
According to a statement provided by the Brazosport Independent School District regarding the event, pupils were made aware of the dress code guidelines prior to the graduation ceremony.
“The student was asked to comply with the dress guidelines and refused,” the statement said. “The graduate was homecoming queen last school year, however, because of the insubordination at the graduation ceremony last May, the graduate was not invited back to participate in the crowning of this year’s Homecoming Queen,” the school copied CNN.
However, Vasquez disputed the school’s claim that her daughter was ordered to remove the stole. According to her, Craddock was approached by a teacher who suggested that she tuck the stole inside her gown rather than remove it at the graduation ceremony.
Craddock, a freshman at Sam Houston State University, says she takes great satisfaction in displaying her Mexican background. She did, however, say that as much as she values her Mexican heritage, she would have followed the school’s instructions if she had been told that wearing the stole was not permitted.
Craddock claimed that if the stole had broken the dress code, she would not have brought it. Her mother, on the other hand, believes Craddock is being unfairly singled out and chastised for her choice, citing students wearing stoles at the graduation.