Editor’s Note: The following is an edited selection of reader comments from the Gazette Web site on the story that appeared Tuesday about Brazilian-born seniors at the regional high school who were told they may not wear scarves in their birth country’s colors over their gowns at graduation. Many comments were posted, but the vast majority were unsigned, and by the newspaper’s policy cannot appear in the print edition.

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I think the students are completely correct in taking their scarves and putting them on as they walk across the stage! It shouldn’t be just the Brazilians to wear the scarves; anyone that wants to show where they’re from should be welcomed to do so. Good luck guys!

Rebecca Barbosa

Vineyard Haven

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My problem with the decision is really only the fact that the Native Americans and the African American kids are allowed to wear the things that they feel show pride in their background, and we as Brazilians only want to do the same. If we were the first to try to do this, I wouldn’t have taken it so hard, but they have been wearing their colors for years now, and for us to not be allowed to is just stupid to me. Can someone tell me how that is fair? And not just for Brazilians. Let anyone wear something that represents nationality, even first-generation Americans.

Fillipi Gomes

Vineyard Haven

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My first comment could not be published about this Brazilian issue I see, so hopefully you will at least publish this: I am not happy!

Woody Williams

Vineyard Haven

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I teach at an urban high school with, I can assure you, far more ethnic diversity in my homeroom than the entire Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. I have never heard of a student asking to wear anything to show their country of origin on graduation day. To an outsider, this just looks like a copycat sort of trend that is merely a tempest in a teapot. School colors for everyone, period. Wear what you like on your own time. Get over it. Sheesh.

Jackie H.

Quincy

I emigrated to this country and have raised two children here, have taken great pride in the U.S., and have served my community well. That said, I am very proud that I am Irish as well as American. I think many writers miss the point of the greatness of America and that is its ethnic diversity and the celebration of heritage. While living in the U.S., I have seen many St. Patrick’s Day parades, enjoyed linguica at many feasts of Queen Isabella at the P.A. Club, cofounded the African American Heritage Trail, and my heart always misses a beat when I hear the very moving drumming of the Wampanoag people of this Island. I could go on, but my point is that this country is a unique mixture of great traditions from every part of the world, and I would argue that all of the people I refer to consider themselves loyal citizens of the United States. There is a saying that if you don’t know where you come from, you can’t know where you’re going, and I believe that to be true. Each of us made a journey whether it was our parents, grandparents, ourselves or 390 years ago when the Pilgrims stepped off that boat in Plymouth.

Filipi Gomes and Andora Aquino are exactly the kind of young people who grace the U.S., embodying the best values of this country. They are hard-working, creative individuals who play sports, attend our classes and whose contributions to this country will be of great value. It has been my great pleasure to be their teacher for a large part of their high school careers, and I am so very proud of them as would anyone be if they knew these fine young people. They have embraced the best of our traditions and have excelled. They merely wish to remember their origins in the same way as do all other ethnic groups in the U.S.

Elaine Cawley Weintraub

West Tisbury

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Show your pride, wear your colors . . . be who you are. This is your day, students, and no one can take this away from you. A long time ago, a good friend gave me this advice: “Act first, ask for permission later.” Congratulations, and be proud.

Arthur Hardy-Doubleday

Oak Bluffs and Beacon Hill