KINGSTON, Jamaica — Professor of Social History, Verene Shepherd, says the decision made by the leadership of St Andrew High School to ban the wearing of “edges” at the start of the academic year is focusing on a side issue.
The prominent all-girls school posted “Absolutely no edges” on its Instagram page, igniting widespread debate. Many agreed with the school’s decision while others argued it was too restrictive.
Speaking with Observer Online, Professor Shepherd traced the hairstyle’s origins to the United States in the 1920s.
“There have been different iterations of this style whether it’s finger curls or how it looks now as edges, and I think our students as usual have been patterning what is going on in the United States,” she said.
“When it comes to black hairstyles we always seem to have a problem,” she added.Professor Shepherd said she sympathises with teachers but believes the school has gone too far. “They are trying to make laws and enforce laws but I think in this case they have gone overboard,” she argued.
Continuing, she said, “What I would ask is [for them] to focus more on the content of our education, ensure the girls and I see boys now being banned for one reason or another. I just wish we could focus on the syllabus, the content; make sure that we raise up self-confident youth who will contribute to Jamaica and focus less on these side issues”.
Observer Online also took to the streets of New Kingston to hear the public’s views. Most respondents felt rules should be obeyed.
One passerby said, “Personally I don’t think it is an issue because everything and everywhere in society need some rules to abide by. I don’t think it should be an issue because every school has their rules and rules are to be abided by because that is what they are training them for.”
She added that when students enter the workforce they will also have to abide by rules, so banning edges “shouldn’t be an issue.”
A hot dog vendor offered a blunt take, “If school say no edges, no edges.”
Another passerby recalled his school days. “We use to have inspection day. All of a sudden we’re now American country where everything America do we do, we’re not Jamaican anymore we’re Americanised. Student is student , you’re not an adult, you’re a student. We have rules and regulations follow the rules and regulations”.
A young man agreed with the school’s principal on banning the hairstyle. “I think it’s kind of a bit distracting,” he said, “especially for the ones that come all the way down inna your forehead. If you’re born with natural baby hair and you do your little thing here suh,” he said, gesturing the motion of making edges, “that’s okay but the whole big curtain dem thats a no no.”
However, an older man called the ban “foolishness.” He explained, “It’s not that they put on a piece, it’s their own hair that they paste down so why should that be a problem?”
A Rastafarian shared, “Every man to him own order, I’m no judge of a man because I don’t want a man weh nuh like locks tell me fi trim mi locks.”
Another woman pointed to the the gel that’s used to hold the edges in place. “The stuff that they use in the hair as well sometimes it’s sort of too cakey and then it look dirty when it dry, it look dirty. It tends to go white and flaky as well so it’s kind of a little distraction.”
A phone case stand owner stressed that rules begin at home. “When it comes to certain hairstyles you have to wear certain hairstyles, do what the school say,” he stated. He added that, “both parents and school both have to work together to solve that.”
Observer Online reached out to the school’s principal, who declined to comment on the matter.
—Carlysia Ramdeen