Dear MLWGS Administration,

I am writing on behalf of the MLWGS Class of 2017, which was concerned by the announcement made on Wednesday, September 14, regarding the fact that if short shorts were worn to school the following day, all girls would be required to wear long pants on Friday. A summary of the class complaints are as follows:

Dress code rules should not be divided by gender. All rules that apply to boys should also apply to girls, and vice versa.

The announcement made on September 17, 2014 was gender biased against women. See Complaint #1.

The above mentioned announcement infringed on the rights of the students by threatening to punish the many for the crime of a few.

The current dress code implies it is a woman's responsibility to not attract a man's attention by wearing revealing clothing.

The current dress code implies that women should not be allowed to wear things they feel comfortable and pretty in, while this is considered a man’s right. See Complaint #4.

Students from the Class of 2017 have signed a petition to ask the MLWGS administration for an explanation for both their dress code and the announcement made on Wednesday (see the petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/whats-the-deal-with-dress-code). We understand that the school has to maintain a degree of professionality, and also that it is the duty of the school to ensure that students learn with as little distraction as possible. However, we believe that high school is a time for finding one’s place in society. Clothing is a major part of this.We also find it unfair that dress code rules seem to pertain mostly to girls, and that most of the infractions of dress code are committed by girls. In a culture like ours, it is difficult to find warm-weather clothing, particularly shorts, for girls that falls into dress code regulation, especially for taller girls.While we do not consider it appropriate to wear only underwear or swimwear to school, we fail to understand the problem with a tank top or a shorter pair of shorts.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Genevieve Markee, Class of 2017

"Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword ... Take away the sword —States can be saved without it!" --Edward Bulwer-Lytton, “Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy” II.ii