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upworthy
Heroes

A student was barred from graduation for his shoes. So a teacher gave him the pair off his feet.

A student was barred from graduation for his shoes. So a teacher gave him the pair off his feet.
via John Butler / Facebook

Daverius Peters, 18, must have felt like he was wandering through a nightmare on May 19 when he was refused entry to his high school graduation. He was dressed in his cap and gown, ready to receive his diploma in front of his proud family when he was stopped at the front door for a dress code violation.

"She said my shoes violated the dress code and I couldn't attend the ceremony unless I changed them," Peters, a senior at Hahnville High School in Boutte, Louisiana, told The Washington Post.

Male students were instructed to wear dark-colored dress shoes to the ceremony. Peter wore black leather sneakers with white soles. "I thought I could wear them because they're black," he said.



After being barred from being admitted to one of the most important events of his young life, he went outside to figure out a solution. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to buy a new pair of shoes.

He paced nervously in front of the gym until he spotted John Butler, a paraeducator at the school for the past two years. Peters explained the situation to Butler and he couldn't believe what he heard.

"Of course, that sounded crazy to me," said Butler. "There was nothing eccentric about his shoes."

"In total disbelief I go down to confirm," Butler later recalled on Facebook. "And sure enough she tells me the same thing. So then it becomes a no brainer to me, a no more questions asked scenario," he wrote.

So Butler gave Peters the shoes off his feet and he was allowed back into the ceremony. The funny part is that Butler wears a size 11, and Peters, a size nine, so he looked a little clumsy while walking on stage to get his diploma.

The new shoes caught the attention of his mother, Jima Smith. "Wait a minute, whose shoes does he have on?" Smith recalled telling her family. "We were all confused."

Her other son noted there was a man in the audience who had no shoes and they put two and two together.

After the ceremony, Peters returned his loafers to Butler and he wasn't shocked by the educator's generosity. "I wasn't surprised because Mr. Butler is that type of person," Peters said. "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."

Butler later posted a photo of the type of shoes Peters wore to the ceremony and they could easily be mistaken for dress shoes.


Butler is having a meeting soon with school officials to discuss its graduation dress code.

"Something that small shouldn't rob a kid from experiencing this major moment," said Butler. "It's something that needs to be thoroughly discussed."

Butler's quick thinking and sacrifice won't soon be forgotten by Peters' mother.

"He gave the shoes off his own feet to my child," Smith said. "That says a lot about what type of man he is."

Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

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