School board updates dress code

The district updated the dress code effective Jan. 5 to allow leggings, tank or spaghetti straps, and hats. 

“The old dress code sucked,” senior Courtney Heimann said. “They were getting onto girls about every little thing, but the guys could be wearing the same thing and nothing would happen to them.” 

Opinions on what is and isn’t appropriate for students to wear range from relatively conservative to very minimal in terms of restrictions. Some believe that the strict dress code rules provide students with practice for the demands of the corporate world, while others believe it takes away from the learning environment due to some students being pulled out of class for several minutes when they violate dress code. Many female students also believe that some aspects of the dress code is inherently sexist as the rules that are stated restrict women more than men. 

“I remember at the beginning of the school year there was an announcement about how the dress code was going to be more strictly enforced and a lot of girls felt like it wasn’t fair,” junior Naomi Love said. 

Overall student body reception to the change in dress code is positive. Students said they believe the changes have taken away some of the more sexist qualities of the dress code, giving female students more freedom in choosing types of clothing they want to wear. They feel more comfortable putting on a tank top in the morning without the fear of being stopped in the halls. 

“I think that it’s definitely a good thing because it encourages individuality, while not being too lax and allowing anything inappropriate,” Love said.