District administrators will formally implement a revised dress code this fall as a result of student advocacy. Advocates and representatives from the Unified Associated Student Body (UASB) worked with administrators to alter language they believe sexualized females and created an uncomfortable atmosphere in regards to dress code enforcement.
Leadership student senior Rojean Janzad met with UASB representatives and discussed uncomfortable incidents of dress code enforcement at various schools in the district. Janzad wrote a letter to the assistant superintendent after the meeting recounting the incidents discussed.
“A lot of [the letter] was [discussing] staff in general being a little insensitive and calling out students in front of the classroom,” Janzad said. “That can be very uncomfortable for people, especially if they’re not comfortable with themselves.”
The letter encouraged discussion between students and administrators about changing the dress code. Janzad also later negotiated with administrators about giving students more freedom to wear what they like.
“The only thing that we couldn’t get [were] crop tops,” Janzad said. “That’s something that the district for some reason was very strict about. The changes are a lot more accepting of all body types and all kinds of people, but there’s still a bit more to go in terms of it being fully progressive.”
Julia Kempkey, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, collaborated with students.
“[Other administrators and I attempted] to make it [clear] what the requirements are for what students wear,” Kempkey said. “[Students] felt that if girls had bigger breasts or a certain body type, they would be targeted more, and they saw [the dress code] implemented inconsistently.”
The revised code specifies that clothing cover the whole torso and removed the words “distracting” and “revealing” from the dress code.
Sophomore Aaron Kang believes words like “distracting” is up to teacher interpretation.
“Distraction is subjective because some people may not think that [certain clothing is] distracting,” Kang said. “There are some teachers who enforce it specifically on certain students that they may or may not like.”
The new dress code requires staff training on body positivity for equal enforcement.
Sophomore Marina Noack thinks students should be conscious of their clothes.
“People should take more responsibility for the way they present themselves,” Noack said. “Putting it all on the administration makes their job a lot harder, and at the end of the day doesn’t accomplish anything besides making people upset because they feel like they’re being treated unfairly.”
Senior Makayla Shaw believes dress codes are unnecessary and restrictive.
“If [girls] feel comfortable, it’s good for [them],” Shaw said. “If they get dress coded for it lowers their self esteem in a way.”
Sophomore Sofia Velazquez dislikes that crop tops are still not allowed.
“I can still wear them outside of school and on the weekends, but it’s who I am,” Velazquez said.
Kempkey believes that dress code compliance stems from student collaboration.
“I’ve seen dress codes which have been very effective because the students feel like they’ve been part of that process,” Kempkey said, “and they’ll adhere to it because they feel like they’re being respected.”
