As our school systems constantly change and improve throughout the years, one thing has certainly stayed at a halt: the dress code.

Every school district has a list of guidelines students and teachers are required to follow throughout the school day. Some of these guidelines are no pajamas, no shorts that don’t reach fingertip length, no tank tops, and more. Despite the need for a dress code, many students aren’t too happy as we have begun the 2021-2022 school year.

Most of the student body has been very upset with the strict guidelines they have to follow. The group who has been most affected by these guidelines are young women. 

After surveying random students through CFHS on their opinion of dress code, many shared their voices.

One female student said, “I do not think that a girl should be taken out of class and miss out on learning to cover up. I would change the severity of the dress code.”  

Another female student stated, “I want to wear leggings and shorts without getting sent home.” In this situation, what she is wearing is more important than her education, which is valid.

A male student also responded, “I don’t really care about it.”

This opinion doesn’t speak for all male students on this topic, but the majority of male responses were very similar to this. This shows how more females are impacted by the strict dress code rather than young men. Females feel as though they are targeted more in this scenario. 

The results to the question in my survey, “Have you been dress coded in school before?” were very surprising with more than 75% of students saying yes. 

Another question I asked was if any “students had been sent home due to dress code?”; more than 25% respond with a yes.

Some may argue this issue is not as widespread and isn’t as big, but they are wrong. Some students at Carolina Forest High School have shared their voices on the matter by hanging up some posters around the Carolina Forest campus during the past couple of weeks.

Many female students are infuriated with the dress code, claiming it to be one-sided. Also, they stated young girls are sexualized for wearing regular clothing items. They feel that they should at least be able to wear shorts and tank tops in the summer heat.

Overall, the dress code is definitely necessary, but many can argue it is past due for a change.