Shorts at EMHS: A Questionable Moral/Dress Code?

It’s official – EMHS has altered its dress code. For as long as I can remember (and presumably for as long as the school has been around) shorts of all types have been banned from the halls of the high school and middle school. Modesty and school appearance are generally the reasons I heard for the shorts dress code, and for years shorts have only been allowed on special days. As of January, this prohibition has been lifted  - on account of the amount of money the students raised during Fund-Drive.

I could scarcely believe it when I heard that this “earn money and we’ll change the rules” offer was being made again. In the 2003 Fund Drive, the school gave the kids the same option – but only lifting the school ban for a week if the students met the monetary goal. As I recall, there was a lot of disagreement among some of the teachers, parents and administration about this offer – a lot of people saw it to be in bad taste.

I’m afraid I’d have to agree with them. It seems to me that the message the school is sending here by altering the dress code is “we’ll lower our standards if you raise enough money.” Maybe the school had been planning to change this part of the dress code for a while, and was just looking for another way to spur the kids come Fund-Drive time. Maybe, as I’ve heard, it had more to do with current fashion than money, and the administration is just hoping that Bermuda shorts won’t be replaced by short-shorts anytime soon.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t have a problem with shorts, and I’m not saying I was too in favor of the dress code to begin with. I suppose it’s good that students now have increased opportunities to express themselves through their clothes (not to mention, most of us will be glad to have something other than jeans to wear once the days start getting warmer).  I’ve also notice that once spring comes, a number of kids develop the habit of changing out of pants and into shorts the instant that 2:55 arrives, making me wonder about the purpose of the rule to begin with.

So, it’s not so much that I’m anti-shorts or anti-administration. It’s more that I wonder about the moral basis of the change. If you’re going to change the dress code, why not do it at the beginning of the year, separate from Fund Drive, instead of sending such a confusing, “earn more money” type of message? Perhaps the administration now regrets their choice, so I’ll try not to make anyone feel too bad. Next time, however, I’d prefer to see rule changes and fund raisers remain as far away from each other as possible.

- Whitney Showalter

Comments

[Coby!]

Wow... If dress code revision was the "reward" (personally, it sounds more like a "bribe") for this year, what will next year's be?

Anyway, my problem with shorts is with how "short" they get. If the knee caps are covered, fine. It is when shorts start to go up past the knee that I get really annoyed.

P.S.: I remember when I first started going to EMHS, someone tried to talk me out of going because of the dress code. Seriously.

[Dustin Crummett]

I'm quite certain that the dress code was going to be changed anyway at some point in the near future, and that someone just decided that, if they were going to give in to the demand anyway, they might as well get some money out of it. I'm not quite certain if that makes things better or worse...

[James Souder]

yeah, when I was telling my friends I was going to come to EMHS, they tried to convince me out of it by saying "Are you sure? I mean, they can't wear shorts there!" I feel the change is good, but I agree the way it happened could have been better.