Students indicate that they are most likely to get "dress coded" in the hallways or coming in to school.
Every new school year comes with new changes to old school rules, including the dress code. The dress code at Watauga High School has left some students angry, while others haven’t been impacted. Some students are choosing to open up about their perspectives.
The newest revision to Watauga’s dress code in 2018 was added in hopes of removing gender bias. The words, “the sleeves shall cover the shoulders” were removed from the dress code because of complaints that they induced gender bias. However, some still feel as though females are more targeted.
Junior Lucy Bachman believes that the dress code can ultimately teach students that their bodies are distractions. She shares her thoughts in hopes that more changes will be made
“I have a few problems with the dress code at WHS. My first one is the rule on showing midriff. The administration's dress code does not allow the midriff to show, and many teachers have told me it is because it is a ‘distraction,’” Bachman said. “By doing this they are teaching young girls their bodies are distracting when the real issue is those distracted by a body part everyone has and normalizing it.”
Although Junior Jack Lewis has never been dress coded, he shares how new restrictions affect his sports life.
“I personally have not been affected by the dress code in the sense that I have been able to wear ‘my style’ but it has affected my sports life as just yesterday, the cross country was told we were unable to run shirtless and had to follow the school dress code,” said Lewis. “So far there has been no word on whether or not short running shorts are included in that.”
When asked about gender bias, Lewis stated how some students are affected more than others.
“As for bias, it would affect other people's clothing more than some," said Lewis, "but I'm not sure if that is intentional or just an unfortunate side effect of the standard of dress.”
Austin Dyer actively hopes that administrators will change the way the dress code is enforced on both males and females.
“Although I have not personally been affected by the dress code, it influences my choices about what I wear each morning…” said Dyer. “I would 100% say that the dress code is biased because even when guys wear something like a muscle shirt they won’t get dress coded. I just wish that teachers and administrators would enforce the dress code on guys as well.”
Assistant Principal Dr. Rachel Shepherd shared her perspective of the dress code as an administrator here at the high school.
¨As administrators, we follow the BOE and school guidelines for dress code as closely as possible. We always want to be cognizant of students' educational needs, but part of our responsibility as a school is to help students understand appropriate social behavior, including attire,” said Shepherd. “When students understand the expectations for student dress and follow them, we not only protect instructional time but also help them to understand the expectations of appropriate dress as they transition to the workplace and beyond.”
Shepherd stated how most violations aren’t because of what students would normally wear, but are a result of those who test the dress code’s boundaries.
“Our students are very intelligent and respectful, and there are typically few true surprises for students when there is a dress code violation. Many of our violations are the result of students pushing the boundaries and trying to see where those limits are.”
Her final statements on the subject discuss how the way the dress code is followed should be no different than in other public areas.
“In many settings, whether in a future job role, attending a social function, or eating in a restaurant, there are guidelines that must be followed regarding appropriate dress. School is no different,” said Shepherd. “If students aren't sure if their clothing choice is appropriate or if they might be questioned about it at school, it's best to just choose something else. In life, it's always better to be overdressed for a situation than underdressed.”
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