The recent amendments to Paul Laurence Dunbar’s dress code have generated widespread public disapproval and outcry from the parents, students and faculty of the school. Below are our collective objections to the new policy. 

 1) High school, while a serious educational affair, is not a “professional business” and students in high school should not be expected to dress as if this is the case, as is the stated intent of the new dress code policy. Most college campuses have far more relaxed dress code policies than that proposed for our high school. 

 2) The proposed dress code fails to achieve its apparent and unnecessary goal of teaching students how to dress professionally because the clothing described is not that characteristic of a professional environment. A prospective employer not ready to tolerate shorts or skirts above the knee in the workplace would by no means tolerate jeans, sweat pants, or T-shirts. The proposed dress code inexplicably sees a distinction between the formalities of these articles of clothing

3) Although clothing can reach a point that it does “interfere with the education process” that point is hardly at shorts and skirts above the knee. The limits described are extreme for the stated goals. The existing dress code policy or some variant of its moderate approach would have been effective in maintaining a dignified environment had it been properly enforced. 

4) The items that would no longer be tolerated under the new dress code are a staple in the average teenagers’ closet. To prohibit these articles of clothing would require that many students purchase new clothes specifically to participate in public school without punishment, which would put an unnecessary financial strain on the families of students attending Dunbar. 

The proposed dress code rules are simply too extreme. Although some students do dress in a overly casual and revealing manner at our school, they could have been subject to punishment under the existing dress code. If Dunbar wishes to have students dress more professionally, the administration should make an effort to enforce rules of the original dress code that were often overlooked instead of reprimanding the rest of the students with outlandish clothing expectations. Below are the names of students, parents of students and faculty that believe that the Dunbar should not approve of the new dress code come July, 9th due to its severity.