Among this year’s notable changes, students have noticed a rise in students being dress coded. The student handbook holds the guidelines for all schools in the district to follow. From time to time, a district committee will implement changes as needed and update the handbook. Despite the uptick in students being dress coded, there has been no changes made this year regarding the dress code.
Principal Lloyd Turner joined the campus last January. As a fresh set of eyes, he noticed items that made it past administrators.
“It’s just important that if we say this is the expectation, there has to be follow-through to implement that with fidelity,” Turner said. “It’s just now being enforced, because it is important that we set the appropriate tone for students and staff. We don’t allow staff to wear certain things to work because this is a professional setting, and we’re role models for our students. We just uphold our staff and students to a high standard.”
By dressing for success, students can be more focused on professionalism and their academics, he said.
“When you’re coming to school in slippers or clothes that are not necessarily appropriate for school, that doesn’t put you in a head space or mindset to be academically successful. It’s just that mindset and attitude: I’m here and I am dressed for success,” Turner said.
The most common argument against dress codes is usually pointed towards students wearing something that others cannot, such as cheerleaders wearing uniforms.
“Cheerleaders have never been dress-coded in their uniforms. Uniforms are district- and campus-approved, and so we don’t dress code any uniform,” Turner said. “Not just cheer, but any club or organization that has a uniform required for their participation are not going to be. Those are two separate things. You have a standard dress code and you have uniforms that fall under clubs and organizations.”
However, the uniforms are no longer permitted to wear during the regular school day.
“You can’t wear them at school, but they’re saying that we can wear them during pep rallies, which is during school. How are we going to be able to change in 30 minutes to a whole entire uniform and then change back, especially if it’s a pep rally during a class period?” junior cheerleader Angelynn Cardenas said.
Cardenas and another junior cheerleader, Mila Pastor, created a petition to express student opinion.
“We were advocating for people who agreed with us and who just wanted to be seen. We didn’t want to make anything negative,” Pastor said. “We just wanted to get our word out there and have everyone see our point of view.”
The girls don’t disagree with the need for a dress code. In fact they too have thought about enforcing certain rules in the past.
“I’ve walked up the stairs before and I looked up and I was like, ‘Holy crap, I’m looking at some butts,’” Cardenas said. “I wouldn’t want my boyfriend or a significant other looking at that either.”
However, Pastor thought coding was sometimes too strict.
“It’s not ideal for someone to show up in booty shorts and a bra, but a T- shirt and jeans? I got dress coded for a T-shirt and jeans and my shirt rode up a little bit because I had stuff in my hands. That’s unrealistic,” Pastor said.
