Principal Luther A. Howard was on the hunt for a menace at his school. What was the dangerous problem?
No one was picking fights. They weren’t hassling teachers either. Principal Howard was looking for one thing and one thing only: long hair.
The boys of Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Connecticut, had been given a warning. They were told to get a haircut by January 29, 1968. If they came to school with long hair, Principal Howard would punish them.
And he wasn’t kidding. Howard sent home more than 50 students that day.
“Hair must be away from the eyes and away from the collar line,” Principal Howard explained. “Hair must be neat (not bushy) around the ears.”