By Jessica Stark
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Monday, April 3, 2006, The OG, opinions

If you've been wandering the first floor lately, you may have noticed a new eyesore — a large copy of the Uni High dress code taped to the front of the Mac Lab door.

Uni's dress code is conveniently short and vague, making it one of the most liberal codes in the area, a fact numerous students exploit on a regular basis. However, the way Uni students dress has never really been a problem, so why post the code all of a sudden?

According to Assistant Director Sue Kovacs, before spring break there were numerous complaints from both students and teachers about some students' clothes. Some students were accused of being “too sexy” in the way they dressed, and there were numerous complaints about the problems caused by short skirts on the stairs. These complaints were discussed with the people involved, and the situations were taken care of, although some of the people subject to complaints were somewhat surprised.

Since our dress code is so liberal, it's hard to draw a line between appropriate and inappropriate attire. The code, found in Section 7.4 of the Student Handbook, states:

Students are expected to dress appropriately, satisfying standards of acceptability for health, safety, modesty and cleanliness. Students' dress and grooming must not disrupt the educational process, interfere with the maintenance of a positive teaching/learning climate, or compromise reasonable standards of health, safety, and decency. Hats may be worn, but teachers may ask to have them removed during class time. Shoes are required to be worn at all times.

Clothing which fails to adequately cover the body or which is torn or altered in an explicit or suggestive manner will not be permitted. It is suggested that outer garments such as winter jackets or rain gear, etc., are not appropriate in the classroom and should be stored in lockers or on the hanging racks.

Excluding the excerpts concerning hats and outerwear, the guidelines for how students are expected to dress are extremely vague, so it is understandable that the people who were subject to the complaints before spring break would be a bit surprised. After all, if there are no strict guidelines, then it has to be hard to figure out what is appropriate and what isn't.

The line becomes even more blurred when you take different people's persectives into account. What one student deems as acceptable attire may seem completely unacceptable to another student.

When you think about it, the situation involving the dress code has the same underlying problem as the recent struggle with the administration concerning the kind of dancing permitted at school dances. Because our school is so diverse, both in terms of age and beliefs, it's extremely difficult to find a happy medium between both extremes, conservative and liberal, so that everyone feels comfortable in the school environment.

Personally, I think there is nothing wrong with using clothes as a way to express yourself. Since we invariably form our first impressions of people based on the way they look, clothes are definitely one of the first things we see when we look at people. However, there's a time and place that's appropriate for everything, and it may not always be at school.

So ladies, if you want to wear short skirts, just keep your legs crossed and walk on the inside of the stairs. And guys, only your girlfriend really cares what underwear you're wearing today, so don't show the rest of the world.

As long as we are considerate of others when we choose what to put on every morning, it won't be a problem, and the administration won't have to make any more unnecessary rules for us to follow.