Every Friday at GlenOak High School is spirit day, but not everyone will want to wear their school spirit. They might choose to wear what they want and it is not a bad thing, but what about following the dress-code?

Some students see it as a personal problem concerning being called out for what they wear. Other students feel neglected for how they choose to dress. While there are always students who comply with the dress-code, students will not always agree with it.

“It isn’t a distraction, so why are shoulders a distraction?” sophomore Katelyn Groves said. 

Groves believes those being targeted, or called out, should not be worried about how to dress for school, they should dress how they want to. She sees girls as the main target point for dress code. 

“If any part of a girl is distracting, that is the boy’s fault and girls shouldn’t be punished,” sophomore Parker Guist said. “Students are told to express themselves and always be themselves, not just at school.”

It is up to how students choose to follow this rule throughout the year, as it is for any school rule. Groves mentioned how some will follow this rule and some will not, and that is just the way it always will be. 

“I think students, including me, will just learn to adapt to getting dress-coded,” Guist said. 

Groves and Guist said their experiences were embarrassing. Getting called out in front of other students about something that, to many, should not be an issue on school grounds is alienating.

“With the teachers, I feel they look at us inappropriately sometimes for what we wear, like if we show our stomachs and chests it feels personal,” Groves said. 

She believes wearing what she is comfortable with should not feel like a personal issue.

“I was embarrassed. Getting dress-coded in front of my friends for wearing something that showed a little of my midriff,” Guist said.

She believes girls should not be punished for what they choose to wear.

Dress-code is not an issue overlooked by faculty, of course, teachers and administrators have their say, and some have a similar or different view from a student’s.

“Students should come to school presenting themselves appropriately for their work environment,” teacher Kristen Misbrener said. “Inappropriate shirts, cropped shirts and inappropriate graphics on tee-shirts are what I see as main problems with dress-code.” 

Good attire for any work environment can set up the right opinion people have of you. Many employers have their dress codes, and it is why schools try to teach their students how to dress employable for a work environment.

“With the majority, there is no problem,” head principal Mike Babics said. “If there is a rule it should be followed. The small things like a dress-code matter for the bigger picture it’s involved in.” 

Most are good at following the rules of it. It is hard for the staff to call out to students because of dress-code.

“I know it’s embarrassing to be dress-coded, and I approach the student with a conversation so that way they don’t feel so neglected in front of others,” Misbrener said. 

  She does think clothes are a good way to express one’s feelings. She hopes students will be cognisant of the dress-code and hope they will learn what is acceptable and not for a school environment.

“It can be a good way to express yourself with certain styles,” deputy principal Gayle Kimbrough said.

Dressing in certain styles and ways can show how a student may feel. 

“Expressing yourselves with school spirit and who or what you support is always good,” Babics said.