Dress Up or Dress Down?
Leo and Michael, juniors, show their different choice in school attire.
Photo Credit: Carolina, 11th grade
This school year, GCDS administrators decided to begin enforcing the dress code more than ever, and debates about dress code have broken out among students.
The GCDS high school dress code is no stranger to changes. While two years ago hardly anyone enforced the dress code, this year, teachers and administrators are cracking down on the dress code rules. Despite these changes, students are still unclear about what the dress code is asking of them.
It’s inconsistent
— Lily, 10th grade
The student handbook currently states “Students must wear a collared shirt, a skirt, shorts, pants or a dress, and appropriate shoes every day. All skirts, dresses, and shorts must be appropriate length.” Some students feel that the GCDS dress code requirements are unclear and unfair. Sophomore Lily says, “It’s unclear because different people get away with different things, like some people can wear leggings one day and then only certain people get in trouble. It’s inconsistent. We should either be able to or not.”
Katarzyna and Ella, seniors, wearing comfortable clothing at school.
Photo Credit: Kayla, 12th grade
Ultimately, this leaves the manner in which students dress up for interpretation. Many students interpret the dress code in either a very formal or casual way. Last year, a group of Upper School students started a movement within the school by wearing suits and ties almost every day in hopes of encouraging students to dress more formally. Leo, one of the students who began this trend, says, “A lot of people here don’t look like they’re representing the school well enough, so we thought why don’t we go and represent the school by wearing nice clothing?”
This group of students does not intend to pressure others into choosing formal wear. They want to encourage others who share their opinion. Leo says, “We’re trying to get more people involved…the idea is getting people to come to school looking more put together.” This group of students has had success in their attempts to persuade students to dress up more often. At least a couple of students wear a suit and tie every day.
Other students have a completely different take on the dress code. Junior Alley usually sports comfortable pants and sweaters when she can. Alley believes a formal dress code limits self-expression, “GCDS is so focused on letting kids express themselves and being independent and figuring out who you are and I feel like we can’t do that if we have a strict dress code. I personally feel like I can’t dress the way I want to present myself and it limits me from expressing who I am as a person. I feel like a school such as GCDS shouldn’t want that.” Kaylee, junior, agrees with Alley and says that she works best when in more comfortable clothing. She dresses as comfortably as she can without being dress coded, which among students means facing consequences for dress code violations.
Mitchell and Evan, juniors, are in dress code at school.
Photo Credit: Carolina, 11th grade
They need to fix this dress code
— Jordyn, 11th grade
Some people may not solely choose formal or casual clothing, but still prefer a set of clear and strict requirements. Ms. Hubertus for instance, says that “students interpret the dress code in a much more loose way than staff and administrators do. I think administration could be more specific so there is no room for looser interpretations.” Ms. Hubertus, like many others, believe that if the dress code were to be more specific there may be less disagreements about what is acceptable and unacceptable to wear. When describing what the dress code should look like specifically, senior Quinn says, “I think the school needs to have either a really strict dress code or no dress code at all because it’s all very messy right now. I think they should have guys come in with suits and ties and girls come in skirts and blouses.”
When talking about the specificity of dress code, gender plays a significant role. Some people feel that even now, the dress code is not inclusive enough. “If GCDS really wants to be inclusive for all genders and races, they need to fix this dress code,” says Jordyn, a junior. Clipper, another junior, adds “I personally am gender nonconforming and very fashionable, the least the school could do is let me be me.” He feels that if the dress code were to become more specific, certain people would feel even more excluded.
Arguments about implementation of a uniform are prevalent at other high schools as well as at GCDS. In 2015, a study found that in 39 different countries, students that wore uniforms at school behaved better. However, dress code requirements do not always yield better results. A separate study in the U.S. found that students performed better academically when wearing their clothing of choice as opposed to uniforms, but their behavior and attendance were not affected.
This debate at GCDS has not yet been settled. As students continue to form their own opinions on what they think the dress code should look like, the administration is often undecided about how to enforce the dress code. Although the administration does have the final say, it is likely that GCDS students will push one way or the other for a change in the dress code.