cannabisnews.com: School Bans Billabong Garments School Bans Billabong Garments Posted by FoM on September 01, 1999 at 09:54:19 PT Statewire Source: Star Tribune WINNECONNE, Wis. (AP) -- Students at Winneconne High School were told not to wear garments bearing the Billabong brand name because of its similarity to the word " bong, " a term for a marijuana pipe. The brand is fashionable among teen-agers as the new school term opens. On the first day of class, a teacher sent junior Adam Szadkowski to the restroom to turn his shirt inside out and conceal the word. " It' s ridiculous, " Szadkowski said. " I could maybe understand if the shirts said ' bill-a-bong' but not ' Billabong.' Are they going to ban us from wearing a shirt that says ' potato' just because it has the word ' pot' in it?" " Billabong" is an Australian aborigine word referring to a lagoon or backwater. The company that uses the name makes surfboards and has developed a line of clothing. Szadkowski said he bought six shirts. Principal Ed Dombrowski said the word " bong" should not be advertised in school. He issued the directive in an effort to avoid a distracting environment, he said. " I realize Billabong is a surfing company. If we were in California or Florida where they do a lot of surfing, I would understand. But we don' t surf here so where do we draw the line?" Dombrowski said. April Guyette, assistant manager of a store in a shopping mall, confirmed the sales popularity of the company' s clothing line. " It' s got nothing to do with drugs, " she said. " Kids are probably buying it just because it' s popular and everybody else is buying it too." " I think the schools have gone a little too far, " Szadkowski said. " Here' s a kid who never wears inappropriate clothing and this is a household where that isn' t allowed, " his mother said. " The whole thing is silly." Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Published Wednesday, September 1, 1999 © Copyright 1999. All rights reserved. Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by Starblazer on August 27, 2001 at 00:18:19 PT: When you come from winneconne.. alright, i'm going to be honest and frank here, that administration of Winneconne High is now ending, because Mr Dombrowski (Dumb-brow-ski as I liked to call him) did not get his contract renewed... Personally, I think that guy is a crock of shiat.. also during that course of administration, they build a new school(I was the first graudating class) personally, I'd have loved to see which teacher did this, because, Most of the teachers there, at least when I was there, had enough brains to realize that billabong was not a drug reference... and now a few facts1) Winneconne is a town w/ a population of 2059 (last time i checked)2) Their *mostly* right wing repb. extremists there.3) Their OLD republicans... nuff said... [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by josh on June 02, 2001 at 23:54:58 PT: this is bullshit my name is josh and this is bull shit [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Kerry Kwasney on June 02, 2001 at 12:13:49 PT: Billabong Article I work at a retail store in Canada, we sell mostly Billabong and Roxy, Quicksilver. I cannot understand why teachers would even think of questioning the clothing. It is a surf, snowboard line, period! Not about drugs, bongs, etc.!!Billabong is a top seller of ours, there is high demand and I think that teachers should read a bit on it and learn, this way they will understand.Thank you Kerry [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by jess on April 04, 2001 at 13:48:57 PT: ha this is so f**king dumb alright, my friend wheres a shirt that says BONG on it both sides, and doesnt say billabong at all. that schools a buch of hicks [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by pipster on March 21, 2001 at 19:13:25 PT: what a load of crap hiok this is the biggest load of bullshit that i have evre herd man you americans carry on with a load of shit if a kid wants to where a shirt that has the word bong on it than let em i say it dosn't nessesary mean that a kid is going to go out and light about a jiont your country is f**ked and you should come over here to australia so stick that up your bye [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by observer on January 11, 2001 at 15:42:03 PT rescinded ''Billabong'' prohibition i hope that someone stupid enough to do that should apolagize to everyone thatwears that brand of clothes,The school ended up dropping that stupid rule a few days later. See:School Cancels Clothing Prohibitionhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/2/thread2768.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by george on January 11, 2001 at 15:39:32 PT george wwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzuuuuuuppppppi wear billabong my name is, my name is ,my name is ggggggeeeeeeoooooorrrrrgggggeeeeee [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by paco on January 11, 2001 at 15:37:12 PT stupid rules i think that baning billabong from a school is pretty gayi hope that someone stupid enough to do that should apolagize to everyone thatwears that brand of clothes, [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Brandon on May 30, 2000 at 18:25:35 PT Idiot... I feel that banning the word, "bong" from our schools in not wrong. I understand the principal when he says if you lived by a beach, where activities like surfing would occur it would be ok. The truth is, high school youth, and I am one, buy these cloths because they can get away with it saying "bong" on it. Also, stating that High should be taken out too is a dumb comparison. High, unlike bong, has several meanings in the english language. I would also like to point out your name... "TimBudd" also has a drug reference, which means you probably are a user, and support "bongs." Thank you... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by TimBudd on September 01, 1999 at 17:08:33 PT: 'High' school If the kids can't wear a shirt with a word that has bong in it, how can they allow the kids to wear clothes that say HIGH on them. What term could be more associated with drug use than HIGH. I look forward to the millions in taxes that can now be wasted removing the word HIGH from every school in the nation. Except those near beaches, where bongs are apparently acceptable. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: