Change in dress code causes controversy

Students are upset about the updated dress code. If girls want to wear leggings, their shirt must reach 7 inches from the bent knee. With new authority, this rule is being heavily enforced. 

I think that this is unreasonable and unfair. 

Everyone has different body proportions. A taller girl with long legs cannot find a shirt to wear with leggings that is in dress code. They could buy a 2-XL shirt, and it still would not be long enough to wear at school. Shorter girls have an easier time finding clothes that are in dress code. This is not fair to the taller girls. The dress code does not accommodate everyone’s body type which could cause low self esteem in high school girls and comparing themselves to others. 

Throughout the first week of school, there have been boys who get away with wearing shorts that are too short for the dress code. They get away with this by rolling the shorts down when they are around someone with the authority to dress code them. It is not fair for the boys to walk around with short shorts, when girls can not even walk through the front doors without being sent home to change. I believe girls would be more accepting of the dress code if everyone, no matter the gender, was held to the same standards. 

The majority of the girls who have been dress-coded have been wearing very long shirts that appear as though they would be in dress code. Female students understand that their shirts need to cover a certain amount of their bodies to be appropriate in a public setting. Although 7 inches does not seem like a lot, it looks extreme when it is applied. We do not want to show off our bodies, we just want to be comfortable in our learning environment. 

Some people think that leggings are inappropriate for school. I believe that this statement is incorrect. Items like joggers and jeggings are acceptable to wear with a shirt that does not reach 7 inches. These items show our bodies the same amount as leggings would. How are these items acceptable, but leggings are not? If these clothing items can be allowed, leggings should too. 

I believe that there is a solution to the leggings problem that will please everyone. Since inches are different on everyone, they could change the rule to measuring a reasonable inseam. Students deserve to have more freedom with what they wear. We are high school students that are aware of what’s appropriate for school and what is not.