AMS Perspectives on the Dress Code

Sloane Alexander

The middle school dress code has been stuck in the same position for many years, and the old practices of inequality have yet to be changed, as they still target female students.

Every year, the dress code rules are recited to students, outlining how they must cover their skin, or they will have to change into a sweatshirt or hoodie from the lost and found because it’s a “distraction.” If you look at the dress code, you see that if your shoulders are showing or you are wearing tight clothing, you could get written up. If you get written up, you are eligible for suspension. The reasoning for the dress code is to “not disrupt the classroom,” but wouldn’t pulling out a student because they are showing some skin cause more of a disruption?

Rumors and drama can cause student embarrassment. Even an anonymous AMS teacher said, “teachers should take into account that students may be self-conscious, and it’s important not to make them feel uncomfortable or like a criminal.”

The dress code is also essential in some ways, but no case is the same, and we need to stop treating it like it is. An anonymous AMS student we interviewed contributed to this argument by saying: “For example, I know a girl with an obviously different body, and she and I wear the same things and she gets dress-coded when I don’t.”

This is similar to what this teacher said, “Case by case when people are tall, and shorts look shorter, and you may feel uncomfortable and finding perfect clothing is not possible.”

This is an accepted form of sexism, and that needs to change because of so many reasons.

For example, the student commented, “one issue I have is that it’s applied for girls and not for boys, for example, if I wore a white shirt I would get dress coded and if a boy did that would not happen. I feel it’s unfair because the school tries to talk about equality, but that’s a form of sexism.”

On the contrary, the teacher says the dress code is “Preparing for life where women are discriminat- ed against in preparation for the unfortunate reality of our world.”

Both sides are valid in different ways. Of course, this is a workplace environment, but workplaces have rights too. We can fix this issue if we all speak out against this injustice. Organizations like National Youth Rights Organization (NYRA) are working to do so. As the student said about the dress code, “I feel like it’s not necessary and if they want to continue having it they should make it equal”.