One of the constant battles that occurs between teenagers and adults deals with what is viewed as appropriate dress in a school setting. While the JagWire staff acknowledges that a dress code is necessary, we have also noticed that there are a few discrepancies in the interpretation of our school’s current dress code.
While a few students have gotten in trouble for what administrative members deem to be inappropriate, other students have been left wondering where to draw the line of appropriate dress. Several students have been asked to change their shirts with the logo “Odd Future Wolfgang,” a band that some believe sends a negative message of drugs and violence. While asking the student to change may have been necessary, there was little explanation as to why the shirt was against the dress code or inappropriate.
We feel that the biggest issue with the way the dress code is handled is that there is not a clear line for students to follow when we pick out our outfit in the morning. How are we to know if a certain band or slogan is inappropriate to wear if the rule was never clearly stated? Also, is it OK for school administrators to say students can’t support a band? As long as no offensive lyrics or graphics are on the shirt students should be allowed to wear it because wearing a band T-shirt does not specifically endorse that band’s ideas.
As a staff, we support students’ rights to wear a band T-shirt to a reasonable degree. But at the very least, we want the dress code to be clear. If a handful of students are told to change their band T-shirts, then everyone who is wearing a band shirt that could be deemed somewhat controversial should be asked to change as well. It should be an all-or-nothing system. If there was a clear and concise rule as to what is considered appropriate and what is not, the students would be more respectful of the rules.
When enforcement decisions are reached, they need to be properly communicated. If this was the case, there would be no need to question the decisions of administrators because the policy would be consistent.
Another inconsistency in the dress code has arisen as rumors have traveled around about yoga pants. While some people think yoga pants and leggings are banned, the pants are still seen around the school. As far as we know, a written policy on yoga pants is nonexistent. However, this has not been clarified to students, seeing as how many teachers were unsure whether or not to implement the policy. This is an issue seeing as how confusion between staff and students can lead to a discrepancy in the fairness of treatment toward students. Some teachers find certain clothing articles to be distasteful while others pay no attention to the way students dress.
Regardless of the current dress code policy in place, it needs to be consistently enforced. We understand that this could mean more strictly enforced dress code policy to ensure fair treatment for everyone. The administration does reserve the right to adapt the dress code to growing issues.
We hope that administration understands that we acknowledge their right to enforce the dress code. We don’t believe that students should be allowed to wear whatever they want. But it must be noted that if the dress code was enforced consistently, either stricter or more lenient, students would be much more likely to respect it.
It’s not reasonable to expect no problems to arise; we know that won’t be the case. However, students should understand that if attire continues to be an issue, the policy may become stricter.
While we acknowledge that there are definite flaws in the dress code policy and the way it is handled, we still ask students to make the proper decisions of what to wear without a code delegating them to do so. If you find yourself questioning your outfit before you walk out the door, then you should change.
