New administration has decided dress code violators will receive harsher consequences. MISD does not have a formal dress code committee and rules are formed with parent/student involvement in school board meetings.

MISD needs a formal dress code committee as it has stayed a residual build up of reactions toward Columbine and retains a stance insensitive to diversity. With such strict consequences to violation, students deserve a voice on what they can wear.

The residue must be cleaned. The district needs a formal committee to accomplish this.

Generic terms with definitions that sway from person to person dominate the dress code. “Excessively tight” has no specific definition. Teachers should not be forced to look for “exposed cleavage.”

The broad view of fingertip length for pants and skirts also leaves large room for interpretation. It sticks students with long arms at a disadvantage. Girls with long arms cannot even get away with appropriate shorts, and this leaves them with two choices—to wear jeans in warm weather or to bring back Bermuda shorts, a popular and acceptable fashion (if they were in fifth grade.)

This leads to the point of how dress codes pertain more to girls than boys. The justification of this struggles with sexism, however, the true issue of equality lies in its enforcement. When a male wears a muscle tee, he is less likely to be coded than a female in yoga pants.

The committee should maintain equal punishments for both parties and make sure the dress code keeps it professional while avoiding oppression.

Not only has the dress code neglected to progress with society as it claims (shown through the remaining ban on nose piercings), but also its rules blatantly overlap in an attempt to target different sides of the student body.

The district banned long t-shirts, a rule meant for males with thoughts of the ability to hide a weapon, while they increased the length of a shirt needed with tight pants intent to conceal a girl’s butt. Both archaic and unjust, this thinking needs to be redone. It sexualizes young girls. It targets ethnic groups based on stereotype.

Those indifferent toward the dress code and lack of committee believe a strict code is needed for a professional environment and following every rule isn’t a big deal.

Yet, a student will be placed in I.S.S. after breaking dress code if the violation can’t be quickly fixed. Every detail counts when such strict enforcements are in place.

Plus, cases like Tinker vs. Des Moines show a student doesn’t lose all first amendments rights when they walk into school. If punishments change so drastically, every student has a right to an opinion that can be expressed more formally than involvement in a school board meeting.

The enforcement of the dress code should reflect its rules. MISD needs a committee to represent fairness and consistency. If muddy guidelines don’t match the precise punishment, there really should be no dress code at all.