HAWKS Dress Code Insight By: Daniel Okonkwo

To all Hillgrove students, teachers, and all other outsiders, I would like to open up this article topic on dress code. This topic is talked about all the time, and can affect many people of many races, styles, and so much more. It’s a topic that is very controversial, and over the course of 3 days, I got opinions and thoughts on Hillgrove’s hot topic of dress code, for the purpose of discovering thoughts and opinions. Through 3 interviews, 30 total questions, I got a good feel and idea of the minds of people and dress code.

Cloey (Junior), being a first-year student, understands more than others the reason for such rules. “The bad thing is that the consequences can be harsh, but the good thing is that it keeps people from looking [inappropriate] at school”. She spoke. She later states, “Abide by the rules, but have a meeting with a teacher or the principal if you feel that way”. Considering she is a new Hawk, she did not know much about the “6 B’s” She listed, “Boobs, butt, bras, I don’t know the rest”. Her delivered tone showed that she was a person that respected dress code yet didn’t really have a heavy opinion on it.

Alanese’s tone showed that the dress code “wasn’t that big of a deal”, yet she did care in different ways than others, as she repeated those very words throughout the interview. Her words on dress code are quoted early on, “I think it’s a little dramatic because I don’t think showing two centimeters of stomach is distracting”. regarding the “6 B’s she lists, “Boxers, bras, breasts, backs, butts, bellies”. She was consistent with her thoughts. She later quoted, “It makes me worried if I'm in or out of dress code, so I walk around all day thinking about it”. She stated, “Like 10”. in response to how many people daily she sees violating dress code.

Brooke(Senior), had a tone showing that she was somewhat against dress code, and that she wished it wasn’t implied like it is. In regards to dress code and her parents’ thoughts, she quotes, “I don’t think they really care about it, as long as I don’t come home with ISS or anything”. Her words about the students though, were more towards distraction of boys. She says later on, “So the guys don’t get distracted”, when on the topic of why dress code is a thing. She says, ”Ok. So, you can wear slippers. I don’t understand that. Like, pajama pants? Like, its school. We are already showing up like, let us wear what we want to wear. Second, is that girls should be able to wear what they want regardless if boys look because that’s not our problem. The third one should be if you get dress coded, just put a [freaking] jacket on”. Her long, detailed responses and answers really show her feelings on the topic. Earlier on she showed some of her feelings, when she said, “I think they got stricter, which is stupid, because like let us wear what we want to wear”.

So, these 3 interviewees give a lot of different sides, thoughts, opinions, and feelings towards this one topic. Some people care a lot, while some people couldn’t care less about the dress code rules. New students, old students, they all have their own wants and desires for the school and school rules. This is only 3 of the hundreds of people that step into Hillgrove doors every weekday. Having interviews like this is good. I feel it opens students up more if they talk to someone their age about this stuff. There wouldn’t have been many of the same answers if a teacher came up and did this. Dress code is a very hot topic and can be changed for the better of students that have issues with it, or may stay the same and students will have to deal with it.