The same images come to mind when we think of spring: birds chirping, trees turning vibrant shades of green and nature coming to life again. But spring’s bounty also includes a more unsavory phenomenon.
As the weather warms, girls begin to break out their skintight daisy dukes, sheer tops and bandeaus, and boys sag even lower and wear tees with graphic images printed on them, all of which violate the school’s dress code.
It’s what you’d expect to see strolling along Santa Monica Pier or Venice Beach, but something’s very wrong when I see such scandalous fashions at seven a.m. while walking to my zero period class.
By all means, show off your ankles, knees, shoulders, necks, whatever, I’m no prude, but I highly doubt I’m alone when I say I wince at the sight of a barely-covered bottom glistening in the spring sun.
Our dress code, which is included in every planner, explicitly bans the type of clothing I’ve just described, clearly stating that clothing deemed distractive and that reference sex may not be worn. Halter-tops, tank tops and hats fall under those categories and are also specifically addressed, yet every time the thermometer rises above 78 degrees, they are all over campus.
Oftentimes on campus I’ll see someone wearing a shirt with a half naked woman on it or a four-inch long tank top that leaves nothing to the imagination.
Though appalled, I reassure myself, thinking that said person will be stopped and made to change, but at the end of the day, nothing’s happened.
There really isn’t an excuse for coming to school in such inappropriate clothing. The dress policy here is clear, and while some students may argue that they’re merely exercising their freedom of expression, school is a place of learning and education, and we should take pride in the way we carry and clothe ourselves, regardless of whether there’s a dress code or not.
The dress code should be enforced better and more often, but ultimately the responsibility falls on us as students to dress in a way that respects our school, our peers and us.
Though summer is around the corner and temperatures are rising, try not to wear clothing that subjects your peers to the sight of your cheeks, and I’m not talking about the ones on your face.