As the weather warms, it’s to be expected that wardrobes change to fit the new season. Although short-shorts and spaghetti straps are against dress code, I guarantee that girls will be wearing them in the upcoming weeks. Why am I so confident in my prediction? Because the school dress code is broken on a daily basis by students. It has been this way for a long time, and it will continue to be challenged by students. I hypothesize that this happens for two reasons: 1. Students disagree with the rules and want to defiantly challenge it. 2. Staff members don’t consistently enforce the rules.
For example, the other day a few girls in one of my classes wore yoga pants to school. Halfway through the class, the teacher noticed and asked how they went most of the day without getting caught and forced to change their clothes. The girls stated that other school staff either didn’t notice or didn’t care. The teacher remarked that just because the girls didn’t get caught doesn’t mean they can wear clothes against the dress code.
Instead of admitting their misbehavior, the girls then tried to start an argument about the rules themselves, stating that yoga pants are okay to wear because they’re “not that bad as leggings” and
“comfortable.” They also wanted to point fingers at boys who don’t follow the dress code either. Then they had the audacity to say that yoga pants are against dress code because boys “look too much at girls’ butts.”
I sincerely hope that this is NOT the opinion shared by the majority of students here at JHS. Those girls were never reported by the teacher and continue to wear yoga pants as much as they want with no consequences. Too many students don’t follow the dress code. Today, I saw five girls wearing yoga pants, and yesterday I saw a group of students wearing bandanas around their heads.
I, personally, am sick to death of the defiant nature of students and the passive wave of the hand by staff members. I truly believe that this can change. If the JHS staff reported EVERY person who disobeyed the dress code from day one of the school year, this wouldn’t be a problem today. The key is to be consistent, consistently enforce the dress code every day for every person and the problem is solved. Students won’t listen to reason; they don’t care about the why behind the rules, and believe me, they wouldn’t listen if you tried to explain. The only option left is to do what should be done: enforce the rules and save me from seeing sagging pants and tight tops.