Imagine waking up on a rainy day in the middle of a frigid December morning wanting to slip on your favorite pair of Ugg slippers and SoLow yoga pants, but you can’t. Instead, you have to wear a school uniform because the freedom to wear your own unique clothes is not allowed at school. Thankfully this is not a problem Staples students need to face.
The Staples dress code, being relaxed, allows its students to be mostly unrestricted in their style. After all, not many schools have girls walking down the halls with three inch Supergas. We are fortunate to have this diversity of style.
However, some argue uniforms are an easy way to limit bullying-related to clothing choice. Since students can be teased about differences in style, some school have tried to solve the issue by requiring uniforms. But this decision does not fix the problem. Bullying does not only occur because of the way you look or the clothes you wear. There are many reasons why a student might be bullied that are unrelated to clothing choice. So there is a limited justification for enforcing such a strict dress code.
To many students’ surprise, there actually is a dress code along with a rule that any administrator/staff can ask a student to change if needed. According to the Staples Student Handbook, “The administrator and staff may establish additional dress and grooming regulations, when necessary.”
Violations may include, “Anything dangerous, spiked heels that might cause one to fall down the stairs, or shirts that blatantly promote drugs, alcohol, or violence. Also, clothes that are too revealing, or anything that detracts from learning is also prohibited,” Franzis said.
To some, this rule seems like our dress code is based on teachers’ and administrators’ judgment alone which may seem unfair. However Richard Franzis one of Staples Assistant Principals made it clear that Staples faculty is not there to make an example out of anyone, they are only ensuring that the students clothing choices will not hinder the learning of others.
Dress codes and uniforms are a sure way to completely cut someone’s creative license. Students need to experiment when they are young so problems can not arise later on in life.
However we must also should be mindful of expressing ourselves without causing distractions that could affect the learning of Staples students.
