Hamish Jacobs is a graduating high-school student in Alberta, Canada. In deference to his Scottish heritage, he proposed to wear a kilt to the graduation ceremony, but the principal has rejected this proposal as being "inappropriate." Evidently, principal Mark Beazer is unfamiliar with the formal attire of other nations, and people in Scotland are up in arms over the issue.

Me, I say that school graduations should have the same dress-codes as science fiction conventions: "Wear anything you like, but remember, 'no costume is NO COSTUME.'" Provided you wear at least a modest cache-sexe or equivalent garment, you're clothed, and if you want to come as a superhero, a medieval blacksmith, a steampunk inventor, a tuxedoed gent, or a tentacled horror, that's great too.

Just remember: it's not a skirt. The last man what called it a skirt got kilt.

The issue has stirred up a whirlwind of debate, with Mr. Jacobs's story recounted in the Scottish Sunday Mail and on a Facebook page, launched by a family friend, that has attracted nearly 1,900 comments. One compares Mr. Jacobs's plight to that of an Ottawa high school student who had to fight to bring a gay partner to his Catholic prom. Another howls: "This is PUBLIC school not a MORMON one." Another pledges to write human-rights authorities – Mr. Jacobs himself has told the school he believes his Charter rights are being violated in what his Facebook page calls an "unforgivable sin." Another suggests: "u should threaten them to go to the media. That will scare them coz they wont want the bad publicity."

No kilt at graduation, school tells Alberta teen

(Thanks, Mom!)

(Image: Tennant Kilt, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from tineyho's photostream)