Dear Editor and Administrative Team:

Since the beginning of the school year, an abundance of students, specifically girls, have been wearing clothing that are too revealing, which causes mass discomfort or distractions for those around.

A significant amount of these girls are often portrayed to be “scandalous” when they wear certain clothing. Author and feminist, Jean Kilbourne, agrees. She points out that distractions are typically around the upper and lower parts of the body.

Yoga pants, v-neck/low-cut shirts, and crop tops are the main problem here at the high school. As Kilbourne said, they become a main distraction to the male population, but do cause discomfort to other females. And what is not understood is why staff is not enforcing the rules in the student handbook.

The student handbook specifically states that students must wear clothing that covers their stomach, chest, and cleavage or else a student may be asked to put on school issued garments to comply with the school’s policy. It is also stated that the school has the right to send a student home to change clothing if needed. Since entering this school, this has yet to happen.

Also, the high school’s program, the Orbit, supplies items that can easily secure this problem. As stated on the website, the Orbit is stocked with new and lightly used clothing that is supplied to students in need or given to if an item is requested. Some clothing given is sweatshirts, t-shirts, and coats; items that can help diminish the view of the upper area. And the same problem is revealed; yet, none of these items are given out.

As a member of the student body, the sight of cleavage/upper chest and stomach is unappealing and immensely cringe-worthy.

Since the program and dress codes are not being enforced, the last resort would be uniforms. Uniforms began to flourish in schools after 1994, when Long Beach, Calif. made the district wide decision to make uniforms mandatory. According to the National Center of Education Statistics, in the years 2009-10, the percentage of schools were at 18.9 percent. Since then, the amount has exceptionally increased.

As a result, higher standards should be set, surveys should be taken by students and teachers on what they believe, and flyers and posters should be hung to spread the word on covering up. The last thing that needs to be done is uniforms. But like other schools, NHS is well on the way if the dress code is not well enforced like it should be.

Overall, dress codes are set at schools for multiple reasons. They are highly enforced at events like choir concerts and the students do as told. What is so different from applying the rules at school in general?

Sincerely,

Jadyn Schroepfer, freshman