Private School Bans South Park…and similarly named brands

Article written by: Andre Sanchez
Posted on: March 9, 2010

SoJones received an email from a concerned fashionista mom in Watertown, Wisconsin. She says the brand new South Pole sweatshirt she bought for her son is banned from his school. Why?

The principal of St. John’s Ev. Lutheran School mistook the logo for the raunchy Comedy Central cartoon “South Park”.

For comparison, here’s a typical South Park apparel item:

And here’s the South Pole sweater in question:

The student’s mom appealed and told the principal that South Pole is a popular apparel brand that is not associated with the irreverent and controversial cartoon series. However, the principal allegedly held fast and refused to rescind the ban on the grounds that it was easy to mix up the two.

So Mom wrote SoJones in a last-ditch appeal for reason:

“…I called (the principal) on the phone and asked him about the conversation regarding (my son’s) sweatshirt.  He said that the sweatshirt wasn’t allowed because it was related to a bad TV show.  I told him that the show was “South Park” and the shirt was “South Pole” to which he replied it would be easy for anyone to confuse the two just as I just did.

Also, I have been asking others about their children’s school dress code.  A lady that I work with whose children attend a prominent area Lutheran High School stated that their school would have no problem whatsoever with the sweatshirt.

For the record,  my son and a lot of his friends really like the sweatshirt.  I have placed a phone call to a member of the Board of Education, with hopes of getting this resolved so that the kids will be able to wear South Pole to school…”

St. John’s is a private religious school. They certainly can mandate any dress code they wish. But the principal’s logic is a bit flawed. Should students wearing Jessica Simpson’s footwear be worried, lest the principal mistake them for a product of another tv cartoon, “The Simpsons”?

Probably the principal was embarrassed that he didn’t know the difference between South Pole and South Park and so insisted on upholding the ban (perhaps a fundraiser for a new eyeglasses prescription is more appropriate).

But what say you, reader? Did the principal do the right thing to play it safe and avoid potential misunderstandings at his school?