Dress code in the buff

Bridget Tobin
October 3, 2009
Filed under Features

This year, a few significant revisions to the Iolani dress code have been made. We all heard the reading of the rules the first week of school, outlining the new dress code.

Mr. Tate Brown, Dean of Students, said, “The wording of the dress code hasn’t changed. We realized that the dress code says no low cut tops and short shorts, but teachers had difficulty being subjective, so we made the dress code more objective.”

Now there are specific guidelines showing exactly what attire is acceptable. The boy’s dress code used to allow t-shirts to be worn under jackets, with the jackets zipped up. Now, the dress code bans t-shirts completely and boys must wear collared shirts at all time, even underneath their sweatshirts and jackets.

Girl’s dress code has also experienced major changes. The neckline of tops must extend across from armpit to armpit. Any shorts and skirts have to extend below the fingertips when the arms are at the sides.

“We are now seeing more short shorts and low tops because it’s the fashion nowadays,” said Mr. Brown. “A few years ago we had problems with bare midriff, but as we can see now, it’s no longer a problem. That may be the case with the shorts and tops in a couple years.”

If a student is caught out of dress code, they will be sent to Mr. Brown, where they receive detention. They also must change out of their illegal clothes. If they don’t have extra clothes with them, they must wait in the office for their parents to bring them an appropriate change of clothes.

The changes in dress code aren’t exactly popular among students. Many had to go and buy new clothes because their old ones were deemed inappropriate. However, teachers favor the changes because it tells them exactly what clothes are in the dress code; now, many more students are paying the price for their inappropriate attire.

Have most students been following these new rules? “Yes,” said Mr. Brown, “We have seen definite changes.  Students are doing their part and dressing in attire appropriate for school.” Although many students object to the new dress code, it seems to be here to stay.