The Crow's Nest

     Is the Dress Code Beneficial or Detrimental?

By: Hayoung Choi

 

As summer approaches and warmer weather awaits, many students eagerly wait to bask in the summer sun with friends and family. With the first waves of heat reaching schools all over America, students have been wearing summer-cooling outfits to combat the sweltering heat in their distinctive fashionable ways. However, many of the outfits students choose to wear are considered a “violation of the dress code” and are often being detained, suspended, or even expelled. Proponents to the dress code say appropriately dressed students promote better learning environments with no distractions. Opponents to the dress code argue that the dress code restricts individual rights of expression that represent the very essence of American democracy.

Port Richmond’s Principal Timothy M. Gannon has stressed that “Students who arrive at school dressed inappropriately will have their parents contacted, will not be permitted to attend classes, and will be required to change into more appropriate attire. Students who repeatedly disregard the dress code will face more severe disciplinary action as afforded by the NYC Department of Education Discipline Code. “ Administrators have enforced that the dress code prevents any unintentional confrontations that may occur while students have acted in defiance against the dress code.

The Port Richmond High School Dress Code:

1. Students shall be responsible for maintaining pants and skirts in an appropriate manner as observed in a professional business environment. All pants and skirts should be secured at waist level and may not fall below the waist to such a degree that a student’s posterior or underwear is shown in any manner.
2. Head coverings, except for religious purposes, for both males and females, are not permitted.
3. Halter-tops, tank tops, and tube tops are not permitted unless worn with a covering shirt or jacket. Tops must extend to the waist and meet the waistband of pants, skirts or shorts. Shoulders and backs should not be bare.
4. Shorts and skirts must extend to the length of one’s fingertips when standing straight up. Miniskirts or short-shorts may not be worn.
5. Slogans or pictures that are obscene or deemed inappropriate by school officials cannot appear on clothing.

Whether the dress code is beneficial or detrimental to American public school children is a topic that will continually be debated among individuals influenced by the daily effects of the educational departments.