Photo Courtesy of Facebook (John Butler)
Daverius Peters, a senior, was blocked from participating in his high school graduation until a teacher gave him the shoes off his feet to help him.
Peters, 18, arrived
at the Hahnville High School graduation ceremony on May 19 and was immediately blocked from entering the convention center. He was wearing the mandatory purple cap and gown, but a school representative told him his shoe selection was wrong.“She said my shoes violated the dress code, and I couldn’t attend the ceremony unless I changed them,” said Peters.
According to the school’s graduation dress code, male students were to wear dark dress shoes, emphasizing that “no athletic shoes” were to be worn.
Peters showed up that day in black leather sneakers with white soles. “I thought I could wear them because they’re black,” he said.
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When he was stopped from entering the front door, he was confused.
“I was in shock,” Peters said. “I felt humiliated. I just wanted to walk across the stage and get my diploma.”
With only minutes until the ceremony began, he started to panic until he suddenly spotted a familiar face.
John Butler, 38, is a paraeducator at the school and mentors students, including Peters. He was attending the ceremony as a parent as his daughter was also graduating.
Peters ran over to the man and explained the shoe situation. Butler bent down and did what he felt he had to do. He gave the student the shoes off his feet.
“Of course, that sounded crazy to me,” said Butler. “There was nothing eccentric about his shoes. It was a no-brainer. This was the most important moment in his life up to that point, and I wasn’t going to let him miss it for anything.”
When his name was called, the boy shuffled across the stage in Butler’s oversized shoes.
Immediately after the ceremony, Peters found Butler to return his loafers and thank him.
Peters had nothing but gratitude for his mentor.
“I wasn’t surprised because Mr. Butler is that type of person. At school, if you’re having a bad day, he’ll be the one to take you out of class, walk around the school with you and talk to you.”
Although everything worked out in the end and Peters could get his diploma, Butler said the situation underscored the school’s critical need to adjust the dress code.
“Something that small shouldn’t rob a kid from experiencing this major moment,” he explained.
Butler plans to meet with school administrators to review the guidelines for future graduation ceremonies.
“It’s something that needs to be thoroughly discussed.”
Stevie Crovetto, the director of public information for Hahnville High School, said the school is taking the incident seriously.
“As with any policy that we have in place, any time an opportunity is presented to us to review and to make improvements, we absolutely will follow up on that,” she said. “We are not the least bit surprised that Mr. Butler did this kind gesture for this senior.”