Have you ever been dress coded before and do you feel it was justified? Do you feel that the dress code is nonexistent? What is the dress code at West? 

Per the West High Student Handbook, “School administration reserves the right to ban any item or clothing article which may cause a disruption to the learning environment or personal safety or promotes illegal products or acts, contains explicit violent or suggestive sexual content or is deemed obscene, profane or offensive. For safety and security purposes, West High School has a zero tolerance policy on the wearing of hoods in the building.”

 Everyone has their own opinions on the dress code. While asking principal Cory Williams if the dress code is enforced she said,“ I’ve given kids t-shirts before. I have told girls that they had to wear a coverup because they had a tube top on, but I haven’t sent them home over it.” 

Part of the problem with enforcing the current code has to do with its currency. “ It’s not as if we don’t have a dress code, it’s pretty dated so it’s not very well enforced,” said Williams.

Williams mentioned that one issue with confronting students is the comfort level of male teachers encountering female students. Social studies teacher John Kealey said he has another female teacher talk to female students about what they are wearing. 

“If I feel a female isn’t dressing to the code I usually ask another female to address it”. 

The female teacher assesses the situation and helps to handle it. When Kealey was asked about how the students took being dress-coded he said,“ Sometimes they are okay with it but sometimes there is a struggle. Each person is different. We want to have a free learning environment as much as possible. However, there will always be boundaries. The people wearing it might not feel offended but the other people around them might feel offended. It’s a two way street”.  Kealey also gave his opinion on the dress code. He said, “It’s changed. I have been working here for about twenty-seven years. Just like everything else in society has changed. What wasn’t accepted back then is accepted now and you’re always going to have students that push things to the limit. It’s been going on forever. I do find it very comical in a time when older generations kind of lash out at the younger generation for doing those things but I had those kids in class and they were doing the same things.” 

Sophomore Brant Beaston has a less conservavtive view on the appropriateness of West High clothing choices. Beaston has been known to wear a questionable t-shirt now and then.” Sometimes,they say cover it or they say they like it.” Despite being asked to cover it, no one has ever forced him to change his shirt.” They say to cover it (the shirt) but I don’t.” When he was asked about his opinion on the dress code at West he said,”There are some things that I agree with but there are also some things I disagree with like I feel the dress code should be to wear what you want but depending on what it says like my Busch light shirt was not appropriate”. 

Freshman Seamus DeVine gives his opinion on the dress code at West. “Honestly they’re not that strict, it’s not that they’re not there but it’s not that strict”. He said he never has been dress coded himself but has heard of people getting dress coded “ Some girl who was wearing a crop top told me about getting dress coded”. 

Sophomore Taylor Kronfeld also gave her opinion on the dress code sense she has been dress-coded before. “I don’t think there should be one. I feel like there should be restrictions instead of a code”. Kronfled went into detail about being dress-coded. “My shorts were too short and it was like 100 and something degrees outside, and my shirt was too short and I had a tank top on that the strap length was shorter than three fingers”,said Kronfled.

Students have many opinions on the dress-code but it’s here to stay unless there are student petitions to update the student dress-code.