BY ALEXANDRA DAVIS, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD-- Many Blythewood High School students have had mixed emotions for several years about the dress code policy that is required to be followed at all Richland School District 2 Schools.
This issue is not limited to Richland 2 though as multiple students in different schools across the country have had many complaints about dress code and how it affects them.
According to an article from CNN called “Do school dress codes end up body-shaming girls?” by Kelly Wallace, a mom was complaining about how her child was not allowed to wear yoga pants to school because “her daughter, now 13, had been told in the fall by a teacher that she couldn't wear yoga pants because the boys would get turned on and then be embarrassed.”
This article is a reflection on how the dress code directly affects students.
“I mean I don’t think it’s so bad that girls can’t have their shoulders showing,” junior Mary Kathryn Ballentine said. “I do think we should have some limitations to what we wear, but not the full limitations.”
According to Richland School District 2’s dress code policy, "sleeveless attire cannot reveal undergarments. Shirts cannot be tight, low cut or show cleavage.”
“Clothing must cover waist, shoulders and back with no skin showing between the top garment and bottom garment,” the policy explains.
“I think it’s more lenient compared to other schools, especially coming from middle school,” freshman Gavin Beckham said.
“I’ve been in other places where it’s more strict. I think we’re pretty liberal allowing certain things that other places don’t,” Assistant Principal David Coyne said.
Although, it may be the more obvious opinion that students do not like dress code, teachers and administrators also have their own opinions on the topic.
“I think it’s necessary, I mean it’s just one of those necessary evils that we have to put up with,” Coyne said. “You [have] to have some kind of limits.”
There has also been many different opinions on if dress code is more strict on female students than on male students. For example, an article from The Orange County Register called “Do school dress code unfairly target girls?” by Greg Hardesty, it talked about how “Many outraged students are voicing their causes on social media and, in many cases, via school demonstrations,” (referring to the topic of dress code being more strict on females).
Ballentine believes dress code is more strict on females.
“We can not wear spaghetti straps without something covering it,” she said. “All girls want to wear Norts and a t-shirt and we can not do that because we’ll get dressed coded within two seconds of walking into the school."
Richland 2 dress code also states “Shirts should be loose fitting and fully cover the upper body. Tank tops, halter-tops, shirts with spaghetti straps, and see-through shirts will not be allowed”.
Beckham said the Richland 2 dress code is more strict on females.
“Yes I think females do [have a more strict dress code], but that’s because they have more accessories than guys,” Beckham said.
Thus, the Richland 2 school board controls the policy, and and any changes that are wishing to be made would need to go through them first.
