School Dress Code

As I arrived at school on September 2, 2008, to begin my senior year at Wylie E. Groves High School, I was greeted with a barrage of teacher remarks directed toward students who were wearing "inappropriate clothing." Compared to last year, Groves High School no longer is tolerant of violations of the school dress code and now takes stronger actions against students who are viewed as disobedient to the dress code rules. Every year, Groves High School has a "welcome back" meeting, but this year the meeting focused more on the dress code than any other topic. I have not seen such a great emphasis on this topic in the four years that I have been at Groves. I consider it wrong to have a mandatory meeting to explain to us, as young adults, what is approprite to wear and what is not.

A couple of days ago, I saw a teacher confiscate a hat and a cell phone from a student. This student was discretely using his cell phone while wearing his hat and was not annoying anyone. As he was walking to his third hour class, the anonymous teacher confiscated his hat and his cell phone and gave it to his assigned dean. It was not until the end of the day, that his belongings were returned. The administration has stated that if you continue to disobey its policy, not only will your belongings be confiscated, but you could also be suspended from school! This is a ridculous policy that allows a student to be suspended just for wearing clothes that may not match school recomendations! The same issue exists for girls who wear tight pants or short skirts even though their undergarments are not viewed. In this case, if a teacher spots a girl wearing what they determine to be inappropriate attire, they are ordered to go home and change into something more "school-like." The school dress code is arbitrary and unfair.

On the other hand, Seaholm students have more freedom to choose what they can wear at school. The teachers are also more lenient as to their dress code interpretation. At Seaholm High School, I understand that the students are allowed to wear what they please, up to a certain extent while walking to class. Unlike Groves High School, in the event that they wear inappropriate clothes, they do not have to be embarrased and ridiculed by teachers, who require the offending student to wear red scrubs, telling the school "I disobeyed the school dress code." It is hard to understand how two schools within the same school district can have two different dress code policies. I actually consider this distinction to be unconstitutional as a possible intrusion of equal protection and freedom of expression. The majority of high school students understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate dress! I feel that we are not treated as adults.