School orders boy to cut 'charity' hair

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CANTON, Ohio, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- An Ohio high school student who is growing his hair out to donate to a wig-making charity said he will not obey the school board's orders to get a haircut.

Zachery Aufderheide, a senior at Canton South High School, said his hair needs to grow another half-inch before it can be donated to Locks of Love, which uses donated hair to create wigs for children suffering from hair loss, WKYC-TV, Cleveland, reported Monday.

"If I could just give the chance for one kid to have a normal life, then I'm just going to go for it," Aufderheide said.

The student said administrators told him about three weeks into the school year the length of his hair violates the school's dress code. Zachery attended a school board meeting for Canton Local Schools in September. He said t he board decided to uphold the dress code and told him he would have to cut his hair or face disciplinary action.

The student's mother said she is standing behind her son, who has a 3.5 grade-point average.

"It does hurt because he believes in this. He's not hurting anybody. He's trying to help somebody," she said.

WKYC-TV said school officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.