For as long as KO has been around, the school has upheld a dress code for both students and teachers alike. Yet, confusion and misunderstandings remain regarding what is and what isn’t allowed to be worn at school.
The main problem stems from how the student handbook explains the dress code. Students are to uphold the “spirit of the dress code.” However, that statement is ambiguous and vague, and no one really knows what that means.
For students, it’s a game of chance, depending on what teachers they have on a certain day, they strategize on what they can get away with wearing.
Some girls get away with off-the-shoulder tops, pants that might as well be leggings, and denim skirts, while others will be dress coded if their teacher finds that their clothing disobeys the dress code. Some boys can even make it the whole day wearing an out of dress code sweatshirt, or shirts with writing on them because their teachers believe it is within the “spirit of the dress code.” The KO News believes that this dilemma is an ongoing struggle that could easily be put to rest.
If the dress code was defined in a cut and dry manner in the student handbook, and every teacher agreed on what was appropriate for school, students wouldn’t have to guess about their outfits on a daily basis.
Recently, a group was created in hopes of getting more input from students to help discuss and set rules about dress code: The dress Code Committee. Yet, gathering students to talk about what they get away with wearing and or what they can’t wear because an individual teacher doesn’t approve won’t be helpful for determining rules on dress code.
While the KO News applauds the school for including students on a topic that mostly affects our everyday lives, we believe that we need to go back and revise the rules. Due to the fact that teachers all have a different opinions of what upholds the “spirit of the dress code,” a lot of clarification is needed.
