Homestead covers up

During the first week of school, Mr. Brett Bowers, principal, released a number of announcements reinforcing Homestead’s dress code. “While many of you consistently wear school appropriate clothing, we have noticed a number of students violating the expectation that tops have two straps and do not expose the midriff,” Mr. Bowers said.

Recently, the concern for appropriate school wear has become prevalent in schools nationwide. For example, over the last couple of weeks, almost 200 students at Tottenville High School in New York “have been given detention over dress code violations,” according Jessica Valenti, a columnist for The Guardian.

Almost 1,000 miles south, in Jacksonville, Florida, Oakleaf High School forced Miranda Larkin, 15, to wear a “shame suit”- large red sweatpants paired with a highlighter yellow shirt with the words “Dress Code Violation” plastered across the front. The school administered this punishment to Larkin because her skirt was not below her knee.

Across the country, however, the ropes concerning school attire have primarily been tightened around females. According to Valenti, “While these school dress codes are supposed to address both female and male students, it’s predominantly girls who are targeted as ‘violators’ – and that could be a violation of federal law.”

A survey conducted by Menlo-Atherton High School in California proves Valenti’s point. The results showed that “64 percent of females…had been called out for violating the dress code, compared to only 12 percent of males.”

Dress concerns are not exempt from Homestead High School. Members of the Homestead cross country team have experienced gender inequity linked to running attire in the past. According to Allie Levin, sophomore and varsity runner, the girls’ cross country team has always been prohibited from practicing in their sports bras while the boys were previously allowed to run without a shirt. “I’m not allowed to wear a sports bra during practice because it’s ‘distracting to the boys.’ I feel that this is wrong,” Levin said. “If the boys are distracted that isn’t my fault. I shouldn’t be punished for it.”

Coach Victor Vilar, girls’ cross country coach, believes that modesty is an appropriate rule on school grounds, both for girls and for boys. “If I was coaching boys I would stick to a modesty rule as well,” Coach Vilar said. “The unfortunate thing for girls is that there is so much more attention brought with their limited clothing because of how society and the media advertise them.”

This year, male cross country runners are expected to wear a shirt during practice, according to their coaches. “This expectation is totally fair,” Anna Keller, junior and varsity runner, said. “Dress codes should apply equally to boys and to girls, and if we have to wear shirts in the 80 degree heat, then so should they.”

This year, students feel that there is a heavier emphasis on the dress code, particularly towards girls. Mr. Bowers’ announcement stressed the rule that tops must cover the midriff and that shirts have two straps. “I felt that this announcement was focused more towards girls,” Taylor James, junior, said.

Mr. Bowers intends for every rule in the dress code to apply to both males and females. According to Mr. Bowers, “We don’t have a gender-based dress code. Any of the things that would violate the dress code would apply equally to girls or boys. If a boy came to school in a top [exposing his midriff], that would be unacceptable.”

Additionally, according to Mr. Bowers, the announcements were meant to raise awareness for a recent trend that is not school appropriate. They were not meant to target females as violators. “Dress code and fashion trends go hand in hand. The fashion trend of cropped tops has become a fashionable thing again,” Mr. Bowers said. “When a style comes up that causes some element of the dress code to become more relevant, we need to raise awareness to it.”

According to Mr. Bowers, he has had several conversations with students regarding their attire. Sophia Scaffidi, junior, detailed her discussion with administration in relation to a dress code violation. After denying to change her clothing for “showing about an inch of midriff,” Scaffidi opted to leave school campus. Scaffidi said, “Mr. Bowers told me that I couldn’t be sent to class dressed as I was and sent me home. I just find it ridiculous that our principal found the way I was dressed to be more important than my education, and that he did not allow me to return to my classes even though I felt my outfit was not too particularly revealing.”

According to Mr Bowers, there are three options for a student who violates the dress code. Administration can give the student a brand new Homestead T-shirt, the student may cover up with their own sweatshirt or a sweatshirt from a friend, or the student can have their parents bring a change of clothing. If the students refuses these options, he or she must leave campus. Mr. Bowers gives every student these options because he believes that “education should be the priority.”

In retrospect of her experience, Scaffidi said, “Our dress code oversexualizes normal parts of our bodies that should not be regarded as inappropriate. Moving forward, I hope students will be allowed to express themselves through their clothing however they choose.”

Mr. Bowers wants students to understand that the dress code is not meant to oversexualize any parts of the body, male or female, nor does he mean for the dress code to become a bigger issue than it is. “There needs to be a standard of reasonableness. We’re not trying to catch somebody doing something wrong,” Mr. Bowers said. “Let’s just communicate this fair standard, and if there’s a situation where we’re not in sync with each other, let’s just deal with it quickly, easily, painlessly and not in an embarrassing way.”

Mr. Bowers added, “There’s a standard that says, ‘I’m walking into school, and school means something.’ There’s a certain level of respect for the institution that comes with how we dress.”