In schools around the world, uniforms are a symbol. A symbol for equality, for discipline and for spirit. Since Ascend’s inception, uniforms have been out of the picture. It is said that this encourages students to have their own identities, to express themselves and embrace each other’s differences. In elementary school, when girls and boys showed up in their most colourful clothes, t-shirts decorated with superheroes and animals, frilly skirts and shorts, students got excited to pick out their outfits the night before. However, once they got to middle school, all of that stopped. Middle school students at Ascend have to abide by the dress code, a part of the student constitution which indicates what is appropriate and inappropriate to wear to school. For the last couple of years, it has been reasonable and easy to follow, but this academic year, students have found it more difficult to abide by, and that’s not because their clothes have changed.
The dress code at Ascend has been fairly simple for a long time. It prohibits slippers for the safety of the students, and clothes with excessive ribbon or string for the same reason. It prohibits shorts that are below a certain length as well as spaghetti strap tops. This kind of dress code is common in many schools that don’t have a uniform, but it has its own challenges. Some of the problems students have with the dress code lie with its execution. Since the start of this academic year, students have been told that if their belly buttons are exposed, they are at risk of being sent home and having “academic misconduct” added to their records.
Students have had to make personal modifications to their attire to align with the new rule, but it doesn’t stop there. The enforcement of this rule is not clear. Some female students have been dress coded for showing less than a centimetre of skin on their midriff, without their navels showing. Some have been dress coded for wearing sleeveless vests with thick straps, and have also been told to raise their hands in the air so the teachers can see if their navel shows. These practices are not common to all teachers, and they cannot be blamed for it collectively, but there is clearly a problem here.
The students’ lack of willingness to follow the dress code goes beyond just wanting to break rules and rebel. Some students have been embarrassed in front of their classmates for wearing something that anyone else would deem appropriate. Even though the dress code has no gender segregation, classes full of boys have watched week after week as their female classmates are told that they have to cover up. Upon being asked why, the usual reason is that “students have to dress appropriately for an educational environment.” and that’s all well, but what does “appropriately” mean? And why is the skin on the midriff inappropriate?
This reasoning extends beyond just the classroom and seeps into formal events held by the school too. We’re told that it is important we look professional. How exactly does showing skin make us look less professional?. This circles back to a very general misconception about the male population – they are ‘distracted’ by the clothing we wear. In reality, they couldn’t care less. While this is the opinion of a majority of our male classmates, suppose there is an instance in which the opposite occurs: if a situation arises where one is made uncomfortable by someone else’s clothes, it should be dealt with on an individual level. One idea that’s been proposed is that of a fixed set of clothes that should be worn for boys and girls, but this goes against what the school stands for.
So how does one fix this problem? It’s been made very clear that this dress code is not changing, but students themselves don’t know when they are breaking it. They can be in the clear on Monday and be breaking the rules on Tuesday, not having changed their style a bit. After a school assembly, students were assured that the dress code would be dealt with in a more consistent manner, but there are still cases where the enforcement of rules between teachers has been rather inconsistent. For example, one of the authors of this article was given a behaviour form on their first offence, while other students have been given multiple warnings, with no further action. Upon asking the DP coordinator, the student was told that they should have been given at least 3 warnings before escalating it to a behaviour form, pointing out the glaring inconsistencies in this system.
One of the biggest problems we’ve come across is a lack of clarity from the school administration’s side. We were told by the school that the student council made the ‘brave decision to uphold last year’s dress code’. Yet, after talking to multiple members of the student council, we found that this just wasn’t true. In fact, many members were actively pushing to change the dress code, while their voices weren’t heard. While we do appreciate them finally coming out with a stance on the dress code, it was one of their throwaway lines that caused some problems.
Being told not to “protest the dress code” by the student council was definitely…interesting. Two things for context, 1) the right to protest is one of the hallmarks of democracy and 2) the student council is literally a democratically elected organisation. They might have rubber stamped the dress code, but at the very least they should uphold their founding principles. Also, ‘don’t protest, you’ll make it worse’? That sounds like a line from someone who thinks George Orwell’s 1984 is a do-it-yourself manual.
To conclude, the students aren’t breaking the rules because it’s fun. They aren’t even doing it on purpose. Teachers get frustrated that they have to tell us numerous times, and that we’re still not listening. But when someone is told over and over again that their body is the reason they can’t learn, they tend to not be very happy about it. The truth of the situation is simple. Not having a uniform doesn’t make our school more modern or cooler than any other IB school. What’s the point of not having a school uniform if the first thing a teacher says when they see me in the morning is ‘cover up’?