FREEPORT, Texas – Administrators in the Brazosport Independent School District have declared that last year’s Homecoming Queen is not welcome to pass the crown, a tradition, due to what she wore to graduation in May.
Brazosport High School told KPRC 2 that Kayleigh Vasquez did not adhere to dress code guidelines when she wore a Mexican heritage sash during the ceremony.
“I’m half Black and half Mexican, and I want everybody to know that I love both sides equally,” Vasquez stated. “I was excited. I got to represent my culture, and that’s something I really wanted to do,” she added.
Kayleigh wore the sash to honor her culture, she didn’t and did not anticipate it would have consequences months later. Last Friday, her mom received a call from the school’s principal, informing her that Kayleigh was not invited to this year’s Homecoming festivities.
“He said, I just want to let you know that Kayleigh won’t be able to participate in Friday’s event, and he said it was because she had that Mexican stole on,” said Cynthia Vasquez.
“For me not to be invited, I was just like, ‘Why? How come?’ I was really hurt,” Kayleigh said.
Kayleigh insists that she didn’t intentionally break the rules. She says there was a lot of confusion leading up to graduation day regarding acceptable attire, and no one instructed her to remove her sash.
“It was like we couldn’t, we could, we couldn’t, we could, and the final thing was, we could wear them. It was very last minute. We could wear them. I was not out of dress code,” Kayleigh said.
Kayleigh feels like she is being singled out.
“Is it because it’s Mexican? You know, why is it such a big issue? Why is race such a big issue,” Kayleigh questioned.
She hopes that administrators will have a change of heart before the big day this Friday.
“I’m just hoping that I will be able to crown the girl on Friday,” she said.
BISD provided the following statement to KPRC 2:
“Graduation dress guidelines are communicated to all graduates. The school policy addresses the wearing of unauthorized sashes or accessories. Unfortunately, a student wore an unapproved sash that was not in the guidelines for graduation dress. The student was asked to comply with the dress guidelines and refused. 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. It is always our intent to maintain the dignity and respect of our graduation ceremonies, and we expect our students to adhere to the established guidelines.”