Getting dressed in the morning can be an adventure for some, a battle for others, but nonetheless, it is one of the few things that is left up to us as teenagers. The dress code policies at South are taking away one of the few freedoms teenagers have. I do agree that school is not the appropriate place to wear that hot, new ultra mini skirt you got for the club, but some of the restrictions go a bit too far, not to mention that they are unclear and confusing.

The dress code states that “sundresses” are not allowed. I would like to point out that this does not specify what a “sundress” is. That term can describe many different styles of dresses, including ones that would be considered appropriate to wear at school. If you’re going to take the time to make a detailed dress code, it should be specific.

Another section dictates that “pants must be secured at the waist.” This almost makes it seem as though the administration doesn’t understand where a person’s waist is located: right above the hip bones. If everyone wore pants “secured at the waist”, we would all look like grandmothers.

This year, there has been a focus on sagging pants. Seeing a peek of plaid fabric sticking out from the top of a guy’s pants is not going to distract me from a lecture on the properties of an element. I am much more likely to be distracted from someone smacking their gum, or tapping their pencil. Since we’re cracking down on sagging so much this year, why don’t we take care of that? It seems to be a much bigger issue than John Doe’s boxers. However, if John’s pants were hanging on for dear life down at his knee and the extent of his backside was visible to the public, stringing his pants up with a rope would be warranted. That could even be considered a safety hazard; how are you supposed to walk with your pants at your knees?

While many boys are affected by the no sagging policy, girls are struggling too. Our dress code prevents girls from wearing leggings as pants but the dress code in Southwest’s student handbook does not say anything about leggings, despite being much more strict about gang symbols. Leggings are just as revealing as tight jeans or a tight skirt; as long as underwear is not visible through them, I fail to see how they are any different. And how are the administrators supposed to judge what a low cut top is? What is low cut for some may not be for others.

Along with being restricting, our school’s dress policy is unclear and quite subjective. There are much bigger issues in our school than boxers and short shorts. These dress code policies are meant to retain our school’s integrity, but they are going too far and taking away from what we are really here to do, and that is to learn.