With warm weather around the corner, you will see a wave of girls walking in with shorts and tank tops. They are as happy and eager as they possibly can be. Then all of a sudden a cold finger taps you on the shoulder and says in a very sour and old voice, “you need to go change because your (insert clothing article) is against the dress code”. 

Now, as a senior, I am ready to say enough is enough. This school should not be taking over a girl’s choice to wear what she wants when it is burning hot outside. 

A few days later, and the girl that is dress coded forgets all about the situation. She wears a very similar outfit but this time is obeying every school rule there is. “What is wrong with this?” is what I would expect to hear from that same cold teachers that dress coded her in the first place. The thing that isn’t going through the teacher’s head is that now that one incident is that now that one girl has to think about what she can wear every day.

Components of the dress code are right to argue that some of the stuff is way too inappropriate, but it is exaggerated when they claim that girls can’t wear spaghetti strap tank tops and covering shorts (because who has shorts long enough to wear to school?). The one thing that can be dress coded that I would be OK with keeping in my mind I am a feminist, are the girls who wear shorts so short that I can see your whole butt on the bottom of your shorts. That is just inappropriate for the school to be seeing, and another thing, why do you want everyone to see all of you? Doesn’t that make you feel, just a little insecure? I’m not shaming you, you do you girl, but please just take a look in the mirror before you leave the front door and ask yourself, “would I let my grandma see me like this?” or “would my kids shame me for wearing this in public? Am I teaching them the wrong thing?”

But, just because there are some girls that choose to dress like that, and they have every right (yes, the first amendment says we have the freedom to express ourselves) to dress like that, does not mean that it needs to be punished. We have the right to wear whatever we want. Girls, step up and take a stand for what you want to wear because what school rule will overpower the constitution? Absolutely none.

And to the boys that call the girl wearing shorts and a tank top a whore, who are you to tell her what she is? Do you know her? Most likely not, so shut up and get on with your day. It doesn’t affect you for what she is wearing, so be quiet.

Let’s all take a moment and see that this dress code thing is limiting our constitutional rights. The school is restricting us when we clearly have the right to express ourselves in any way we want. We wouldn’t punish someone for dyeing their hair, getting a piercing or tattoo, buying a specific food, or practicing a religion. So, why is our school punishing girls for what they are wearing when we have the right to wear what we want? Stand up for yourself and wear those shorts, that tank top, those crop tops that you just spent your whole paycheck on. Wear whatever you want girls and make sure you wear it with pride.