Do dress codes help to foster an environment that is conducive to learning? Do they cause a distraction for students? Dress codes have become a complicated issue for many students. Schools use dress codes in order to achieve academic excellence. Some people may question  if making young women disregard the media and advertising of midriffs, tank tops, and short skirts teach them that they are more than their appearance. Or that their appearance is all they are?

Here at the iSchool., teachers and staff recognize that there has to be a balance between popular attire and appropriate clothing for our learning environment. with what is appropriate for a learning environment.

The assistant principal, Michelle Leimsider,  said, “Most professional environments have a dress code, and a school is considered a professional environment so it should have one as well. I know it is the style to wear tank tops and other clothes along those lines. It’s not that I deem certain clothing to be distracting it’s just that we are in a professional environment. I think that a bright neon green shirt is more distracting than someone’s shoulders, and I get that. Just like girls aren’t allowed to show their midriffs, boys aren’t allowed to show their boxers.”

Seeing that although we have a flexible dress code, there are exceptions to what students are allowed to wear,  whether it is the style or not.

Sophomore Goshuami Valoy says, “  Dress code can be seen as sexist because the boys don’t have as many rules as we do, even though they don’t necessarily wear the same exact clothes. But on the other hand I can see that it is school and that a girl or even guy shouldn’t be showing up in the shortest shorts, because it is a place for learning. But I think that the dress code here is very flexible compared to what I had at my old school which is nice because I can wear what is in style more often.”

Another student who had similar past experiences with school dress code agrees.

Freshman Aliyah Logan commented, “I’m fine with it because at my old school you couldn’t wear tank tops and stuff like that but in the school I like it because there are more freedoms on what you can wear.”

On the other hand,there was one student who had a somewhat contradicting statement from the previous students.

According to sophomore Theo Gold, “Girls should be allowed to wear what they want without being discriminated. They say it is distracting for boys or unprofessional when we see someone’s midriff, but I really don’t see that at all. We all have them, so what is the problem? But, I know that school is a learning environment so there should be a balance, which I think the iSchool has.”