By: RILEY VUOLA
Staff Writer
Last year, the VUSD school district gave kids more freedom in wearing what they want to wear. Everyone was so happy about this and no kids were being pulled from class, which was a huge distraction to the rest of the kids actually trying to learn and get good grades. This system worked very well but the only issue was that some students were getting into fights because they were wearing gang apparel. For this reason, the dress code has been brought back and they’re stricter than ever about it.
I completely understand their reasoning for bringing it back, but I disagree with what they actually brought back. They were trying to solve the fighting issue, which they could have done just by restricting certain solid color outfits and outfits with gang signs on them. Instead, they are using it as a way to point out how much of a woman’s body is showing, and then they proceed to make them cover up. They added things for men so that it wouldn’t be “discriminatory” but when I personally got dress coded, all of the people who were waiting in the office after school to get their clothes back were all women. There was not a single man in sight. That in itself was very telling to me. They are using the fights as an excuse to sexualize young teenagers’ bodies and it’s disgusting. It shouldn’t matter how much of a student’s stomach is showing, we are all here to learn, and by pulling them from class, you’re interrupting their education.
This policy change was one of the worst things that the school could have done, and they don’t even see how discriminatory it is. I’ve witnessed many bigger women getting dress coded for the exact same things that slim women were wearing, and the slim women didn’t even get looked at. Same with women who are more developed than others. Overall, this new policy is absolutely awful, and I hope the district sees how it’s affecting us and makes a huge change.