SCHOOL DRESS CODE
What Is It Good For?
Persea Sanchez and Miah Garcia
Did you know that the CCSD dress code regulations were last revised in 1999, other than small regulation changes is 2009 regarding hats? Dress code has sparked up many arguments over whether or not the rules are fair.
“I think it is outdated and needs improvement to make students feel comfortable,” States a CCSD student. The CCSD dress code was “adopted” in 1966, making its last major revision in 1999, over 20 years ago. Other students have made similar comments like, “It is biased,” “I think it is unfair,” and “People are unable to express themselves.”
As a result of the obvious discomfort with the dress code in Clark County, students have created a petition on the website Change.org, to “Abolish the CCSD Dress Code” The petition currently has 571 signatures.
“Because my children are not sexual objects.” comments Tanya Landry under ‘Reasons for signing’.
CCSD high school, Shadow Ridge, had recently had a protest against the dress code during lunch. Students held signs saying, “Do my shoulders distract you?” “My education is more important than what I'm wearing”. Students made signs with the previous statements because the dress code regulations explain that violations will result in either the student going home or having to change.
“Nobody’s gonna show up in a bikini yk [you know] so there’s no point… I don’t think schools need a whole dress code, we’re literally kids,” Another CCSD student remarked. In July 2018 California’s Alameda Unified School District passed their “No Shame Dress Code” which allows students to express themselves with little to no restrictions, and they are no violence, hate inducing, and showing no undergarments. This dress code adoption could prevent so many students from being pulled out of their classes to change. On the
CCSD website, under student attire, males have 6 rules to follow, whereas females have 9.
Dress codes were originally made to teach them how to dress appropriately, especially for school and employment attire. Dress code was also created to prevent students from wearing distracting clothing and accessories. It was also created for bullying and safety purposes, for example, if someone wears something out of the ordinary or against the dress code they could be bullied when it could have prevented that from happening.
While some may argue the CCSD dress code is unfair it is unjust to say it’s not inclusive for religious and medical exceptions. In the Clark County District Regulations, it says that while head coverings like hats, bandanas, etc. are not permitted they can be allowed for school events, religious and or medical reasons. The Clark County District Regulations also prohibits prejudicial slogans and advertising on clothing, jewelry, or pins. This can be helpful to students and prevent them from landing in harmful situations.
Students have done what they can by making Change.org petitions, Instagram posts, posters around schools, emailing the school district, and protests.
Even though there are arguments against the dress code it is safe to say that students are able to express themselves as much as possible with the limitations put on them.
COVER UP OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES
By Eli A. Kromer and Hannah Mae Fuentez
Society has always been ruthless on the female body and this has leaked into the schools. An example of this is the dress code. The dress code policy is plagued with injustice and bias against females.
One event that shows the dress code bias happened recently in St. Johns, Florida. Eighty female students stated that they felt sexualized, ashamed, and embarrassed at Bartram High School when their yearbook photos were altered without their knowledge or consent, while there was not a single male student’s photo changed. The principal of the school, who happened to be male, photoshopped the school yearbook photos of eighty female students. Many edits were prompted by the staff’s beliefs that the girls affected had worn shirts and blouses that were too low or the arms of their shirts showed too much of their shoulders. Meanwhile, a photo of a male student wearing nothing more than a pair of swimming trunks was printed without alterations. Riley O’Keefe, a parent of one of the girls affected by this event, stated, “You’re not only affecting their photo, it’s not just for protecting them, you’re making them uncomfortable and feel like their bodies aren’t acceptable in a yearbook.”
This shows how one single event in a school district can so heavily affect a girl’s life.
Speaking to several East Tech students, both male and female, all stated that they felt that the CCSD dress code policy was biased towards female students.
“I think it’s really targeted towards girls more than anything. Like, I don’t think there are many restrictions against males,” states Cinthya Casteneda, a member of the Gender Sexuality Alliance, “I think it’s weird and it’s sexist and... I don’t really see the point in it,” continues Casteneda.
Julius Gunn, a student that has personally said he has never been dress coded, states that, “I feel like it’s [the CCSD dress code] sexist...Girls don’t get to wear the same things as guys. I feel like guys get a lot more freedom in what they get to wear.”
In addition to these statements, one of our own East Tech teachers, explained during an interview, “I believe that it’s incredibly biased. I think that it unfairly targets female students over male even though the dress code doesn’t specifically say the word male and female. It very specifically highlights female garments, or types of clothing, so it is very biased.”
These quotes, in addition to the event of the photoshopped yearbook in Florida, illustrate the injustice of the dress code policy, not just in CCSD, but within school districts across the U.S.
IS THE CCSD DRESSCODE AS BAD AS IT SEEMS?
By Nicole Barranco, Kate Moreno, and Alexa Ibarra
Over the past few weeks, we roamed the east tech halls and encountered many diverse opinions from
students and administrators. Everyone’s opinion varied from the dress code being
fine and how it teaches us to dress professionally in a work environment, to how it’s stricter than
it should be and targeted mainly towards feminine students. We received different responses
from school administrators, male students, and more feminist students. Administrators had
similar beliefs however, some had more to say. We encountered two female administrators who
had very different opinions on the topic. We asked if what students wear affects how they’re
treated. We got two completely different answers that you could either agree with or might even
shock you! First administrator stated that, “Yes, what you wear affects how you are treated…
usually girls wear it looking for attention so when you get the wrong type of attention
don't be surprised.” The other administrator disagreed by thinking, “what you wear is not an
open invitation to do or act a certain way.” 85% of the students we interviewed would disagree
with the first administrator because not everything females wear is to get attention from anyone
but they wear it to express themselves. Lots of females get put down by the clothing they choose
to wear and we shouldn't judge someone based on looks.
A major question students agreed on was that the dress code targets more feminine
students than masculine students. Administrators, on the other hand, disagreed and said that
“Females have more clothing options (for example, crop tops, short shorts, ripped jeans, and
leggings), therefore... females get dress-coded more frequently than males do”. Another
responded with, “girls wear more visual outfits, in addition, there is more frequent exposure.”
We understand both sides of this argument and we believe that there should be a fine line where
both sides can agree. Students should be allowed to participate in new fashion trends and express
themselves without over-exposing. For example, showing a few inches of skin shouldn’t be
considered distracting or inappropriate. You yourself, should take in consideration for when
there’s a time and place when it comes to deciding what to wear. School does prepare us for the
future but on the other hand, there should be moments where we can really express ourselves.
Each district has their own guidelines and restrictions towards dress code. The Clark
County guidelines state that students are to be dressed in such a manner that their appearance in
the school contributes to the learning environment. A ridiculous example is that you must
remove outwear such as coats, mittens, or scarves. People might be really cold, especially those
who have a chronic illness. There are also policies that are understandable which include,
forbidding people from wearing slippers, or spiked clothing. People in the past would get dress-
coded for wearing their religious attire such as Muslims wearing hijabs or african americans who
wear headwraps. To this day, people still disagree with the change made. People should accept
others and their religion.
Nowadays, society thinks that gender defines how you're viewed. For example, When a girl get sexually assaulted, the first question is usually “What were you wearing?”, or “Did you
drink?” versus when it happens to a male, they get targeted more emotionally and mentally. Our
generation wants to make a difference to stop this mindset in society towards both females and
males and we can make a start by changing the dress code.