Examples of other schools’ dress codes. Photo credit: Instagram

Brunswick and Greenwich Academy follow a strict uniform where all students must wear the same outfit daily with few options. The King School has similar protocols, but with more choice and periodic uniformed dress-up days. Rye Country Day School allows students to come into school wearing whatever they like with no restrictions. So why does GCDS struggle to find its dress code identity?

The dress code has been a cause of tension between students and teachers since the opening of GCDS High School. When Dr. Winters describes the goal of the dress code, he says it should “allow for some individual expression.” However, he clarifies, “Our hope was that students would come to school looking ‘school-professional’ —neat and clean— and in accordance with the letter, and spirit of our code.” This goal of students’ dress ultimately failed to align with the visions of administrators in the spring of last year, prompting stronger enforcement.

Freshmen showing fall dress trends at GCDS. Photo Credit: Abby Vadai.

Some students found this year’s changes in enforcement confusing. “I find it difficult to find something to wear when the dress code [enforcement] so frequently changes because I don’t know what’s allowed and what’s not,” explains tenth grader Emily. Teachers struggle with this uncertainty as well, Mr. Saldana notes, “There are levels of separation as to how faculty is responding.”

Students feel the repercussions of the teachers’ confusion. “I think the dress code itself is fine, but sometimes the way that faculty interacts in the hallway with it is not great,” shares Linnea, a freshman. This is a shared feeling as Stella, a Junior, says, “Honestly, how the teachers are enforcing it is unfair, and it’s not only the male teachers. It’s the women teachers also.” The discrepancies in how the dress code is handled by adults in the community begs the question: “How do we as a faculty address a dress code violation? Because I think there’s a way of doing it and a language that should be agreed upon,” as Mr. Saldana says.

Students and administrators believe that their problems with understanding the dress code stem from one significant factor: lack of clarity. Carmie, a 12th grader, says the dress code is “disorganized and unclear.” Additionally, Ms. McDonald says, ”I think I would feel confused” if she were a student navigating the GCDS dress code. In hopes of alleviating these feelings, Ms. McDonald says her work has been geared towards changing the dress code documents for the purpose of “making the language more clear.” To establish clear language, Dr. Winters started sending emails in late August detailing what is or is not allowed in simple terms.

Taj, 10th grade, expresses himself through his dress. Photo credit: Jake LeDonne.

A concern within the student body is the loss of expression created by guidelines surrounding modesty. Junior Charlie notes, “some people do buy clothes that they think fits their style or goes with their identity but a lot of them can’t be worn because it is restricted.” Despite this feeling among students, teachers remain hopeful that students wear things they are, “comfortable in but where [students] can also show who [they] are,” as Ms. Fox puts it.

Many feel that dress code infringements are heavily dependent on gender. “[teachers] really target the girls like the boys never get dress coded and their dress code is so much easier,” as Lindsey, a junior, says. Similarly, senior Dylan believes that the dress code for boys is significantly simpler to understand and does not have the complexity of the girls’ dress code, saying, “I feel like for the boys it is pretty clear cut what they wear, but for the girls there is a lot of gray zone.”

10th graders Arianna and Reminy, with their interpretations of GCDS dress code. Photo credit: Abby Vadai.

Discrepancies regarding body type are also a significant concern, especially among female students; “One girl could wear a dress and get away with it but one girl who might have a different body type or it might not look the same on her could get dress coded for it, even if they’re wearing the exact same thing,” shares junior Belle. Similarly, Paige, a senior, recalls, “My friends have definitely been dress-coded for dresses because they may have a bigger chest size than other people… I wore my sister’s dress to school once, and only she got dress-coded because she has a larger top size.” Discrimination based on body type is alarming to students because it is something out of their control and is not measurable by our current dress code.

In order to minimize tension, students are looking for changes.

Charlie, a junior, prefers a uniform; he thinks “[having a uniform] would be better than sexualizing young girls’ bodies because it would not allow teachers to make weird sexual comments.” While the transition to a uniform would be significant for GCDS High School, some students find the idea appealing, “I am on board with it 100%,” states Bella, a junior. Students’ disposition toward a uniform comes from a need for simplicity, or, as Junior Belle puts it, “I feel like that would make it easier like if it was just a skirt and a polo.” This comes as a relief to teachers such as Mr. Saldana, who would like to relieve the “added pressure” that he once felt by having a similar dress code. However, some students, like sophomore Leo, don’t think GCDS is the “type of school where [students] need to wear uniforms.

So, where can we as a school go from here as we continue to discuss the dress code? In the eyes of Carmie, GCDS’ chaotic dress code makes the school a place with “a lot of tension between students and teachers” Some strongly agree with transitioning into a uniform, while others do not see how it could benefit the community. This leaves admin with a choice: continue trying to enforce a dress code that isn’t being followed or try an entirely different approach.