Dress Code "Rebellion" by Hannah T

Over the past week or two, administration has made it very clear that the dress code is going to be very strictly enforced this year. And it was noticeably more strict for the girls of the school. It was already very frustrating for all girls, and even more after a few friends decided to do a "test" to see how strict they would be for the boys.

In the dress code it specifically states that boys are not allowed to wear muscle shirts or shirts that show their shoulders. So one day at lunch, when a boy was wearing one, a friend of his (a girl), called over administration and complained that his shoulders were distracting her to see what the reaction would be. And shockingly, the girl was told to just get over it. Very unfair based on the fact that girls had been getting in trouble throughout the whole day for having too much of their shoulders showing and being forced to change into another shirt.

After this incident, a few girls decided that the very strict code for girls was not right. One girl wrote, "As female students, we should not have to compromise our comfort so that the male students' education won't be 'disrupted'. Instead of sexualizing a woman's choice of dress and freedom of expression, teach the maturing boys of this school what are appropriate and inappropriate times/places to express their attraction to women. We will not let this school body shame and blame women". So they began a group called #freetheshoulders, which encouraged all girls to wear off the shoulder shirts or tank tops to school the next day. And as expected, a huge amount of girls participated.

At the beginning of the day, many girls were being asked to change or put on a jacket to cover their shoulders because apparently they are "distracting". But later in the afternoon, the administration called down two of the girls who helped organize this "protest" and had them explain their problem with the dress code. Administration listened to their explanation and were very understanding of the girls' point of view, and even agreed to make changes to the dress code so it would be more fair for girls.

This whole situation goes to show that when a group of people come together, they really can achieve things (maturely and peacefully).