Students dislike dress code, administration stresses safety

For the 2022-23 school year, Lamar is cracking down on dress code and has received backlash from students. 

When students arrived at Lamar for the new school year, they were met with a heavily enforced dress code through posters around the school and from administrators. This came as a shock to returning students as it is not what they knew last year. 

“The dress code is not new, really we’re following the AISD dress code but it hasn’t been something we’ve really focused on,” Assistant Principal Brandon Howard said. “We felt like we had other more important issues if you will, but one thing that we learned last year coming back from Covid, was that there were some things for safety that we needed to tighten up on.” 

Dress code consists of the following: ID’s being worn and visible at all times, shirts/tops must touch the waist of pants while standing, and no house shoes or slippers can be worn. These are just a few.

Many questions about why there is a dress code  have speculated around the school causing different opinions. Administrators and faculty have also used different techniques to enforce dress code which has influenced the way students have responded. 

“When we first rolled it out, there was some push back from the students kind of questioning why we were doing it,” Howard said. “Now there’s still some questions, but students are compliant. Most of the students have their IDs on, if it’s not on when we ask them they’ll pull it out and put it on.” 

While adjusting to dress code has been easier for some students, it has not been for others. Many students were informed of dress code before the new school year through Black Board and various Lamar social medias. The response from each grade level has varied. 

“I think the dress code is unreasonable because there’s so many things that are enforced in dress code that don’t determine how someone does in school.” junior Hannah Joejim said.

Students want to know where they are crossing the line when it comes to dress code. 

“There are certain things I understand, but others I feel are unnecessary,” sophomore Dana Kolaghassi said. “For example, the whole crop top thing. Obviously people are going to show midriff, but like banning crop tops? How long of a shirt do we need to touch our pants?” 

Administrators have seen the most backlash from students in grades 10-12 since they are returning students. 

“They kind of had an expectation that ‘Ican wear what I want to wear.’” Howard said. “Our freshmen coming from Nichols and Shack had dress codes, so they were already used to being told what they can and can’t wear. Even this is laid back from what they had.”

Administrators and teachers have tried to find a common ground with students. If a student is out of dress code they will be told to fix it depending on the intensity of the situation. If a jacket can be zipped up to cover midriff, students will be asked to zip it. Students can also be given Lamar T-shirts. These are just some resorts taken before sending a student home. 

“I know it’s a change, it’s a change for teachers, too,” Howard said. “We’re asking them to enforce it. At the end of the day, some of them are for safety and we can’t negotiate on student safety and some of them we’re trying to get you ready for the professional world. There is an adjustment but as long as you’re willing to work with us we’re willing to work with you.”