Dress codes are limiting student's potential, creativity, and their right to freedom of expression. As education evolves so should student dress code regulations. Schools across the United States have placed dress code regulations on the back burner and have especially targeted young female students. These students are tormented when their shoulders are revealed while wearing a tank top, and or when their shorts are centimeters above the "finger-tip policy".
A pursuit to petition a school dress code is often seen negatively in the eyes of school administrators and rarely is the student sided with. Any student who has experienced a dress code violation knows there are few options: call home for a change of clothes or be removed from class until an alternative outfit can be obtained. If you have been a victim to such you know how embarrassing this can be. Placing yourself in this situation makes you question whether this incident was the result of another peer feeling uncomfortable with your appearance or your adult teacher deeming your self-expression as inappropriate and unideal.
Are school uniforms at all useful? In some cases, yes. They can focus student's attention on education, and not on the students who can afford new shoes every month. They can detract students from focusing on their peer's appearance and instead focusing on their character qualities such as intelligence. However, what is not brought into perspective is that children are continuously growing mentally and physically. This means that students' parents are stuck with purchasing new clothing for students every year, and where uniforms help draw away the attention of student's socioeconomic status, it often emphasizes it when students are unable to afford larger sizes as growth occurs.
The purpose of this petition is to draw attention to the freedom students should have when choosing the outfit to attack the day with. Whether the outfit is comprised of a tank top, shorts, a graphic shirt, or a call to action bracelet, all students should be offered a right to represent their ideas and bodies as they choose. Please join me by signing this petition to bring awareness to school teachers, administrators, and advocating for students as they embark on finding their right to end school uniforms.
