High School Girls Fight Dress Code With The Scarlet Letter-Inspired Protest

HI!!!! As many of you heard there’s a new dress code policy being enforced as of tomorrow that will require students to leave class and sit in the office until their dress code violation is ‘dealt with’. Also, for a teacher to send you to the office they do NOT have to dictate whether or not you’re in dress code, simply question it. Many students find it incredibly offensive that their outfits are being held at a higher importance than their education. many ideas have been tossed around about how to let admin know that we are dissatisfied with the way they’re handling dress code violations. the solution we’ve reached is : Tomorrow, September 24th 2015, it would be AWESOME if we could get as many people as possible to incorporate a red A into their outfits as the red A is a famous symbol for ‘sin’. We’ll keep this page updated as frequently as possible so that the movement is cohesive and effective. Thank you for standing up for what’s fair. (that everyone should be treated with equal respect) IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING PLEASE JOIN THE FACEBOOK EVENT “NOT ‘A’ DISTRACTION”

A photo posted by REESE FISCHER (@reesefisch) on Sep 23, 2015 at 3:08pm PDT

In an act that would make Easy A proud, students at Charleston County School of the Arts in North Charleston, South Carolina wore red A’s last week to protest the school’s dress code policies (which you can read here). About 100 students took part, and also shared their As with the hashtags #NotADistraction and #NotADistractionSOA.  Reese Fischer, a student at CCSOA and organizer, also started a change.org petition to protest the dress code. She emphasizes that the issue they want to combat is not dress codes themselves, but rather the ways in which they’re enforced. Junior Peyton Corder told Post and Courier that a counselor “told her that heavier girls needed to wear longer skirts.” Fischer also points out that boys wearing muscle shirts, sagging pants, and other violations rarely face consequences. Principal Robert Perrineau’s response seems supportive of the initiative. He states:

This is just a reminder of what was is already in place, that we need to be consistent and be equitable and be fair to everyone. We do want to make sure that we’re all giving that reminder and giving attention to any individual student situation in the same way. We want the point to be made, but we want to be respectful.

the dresscode is important as it promotes a comfortable and professional learning environment. however, there is nothing comfortable or professional about being told you’re “asking for it” or “selling yourself in the wrong way” or being told your body is “gross”. I’m so proud to stand among my peers as we stand up for what’s right, and that is everyone should be treated with respect. #notadistractionsoa A photo posted by REESE FISCHER (@reesefisch) on Sep 24, 2015 at 3:43pm PDT

As someone who spent a lot of high school being a bit of a snot-nosed brat, I’m really impressed the students at SOA. When girls are disproportionately penalized for violating the dress code, that sends a bad message. Fischer lays it out well in her petition:

When a student shows complete disregard for the dress code, it is to be understood that they are breaking the rules and their major infraction should by all means warrant a fair punishment. However, when a student is called down for a minor infraction and forced to miss class time, we are teaching students that their education is not as important as their appearance, which is the exact opposite of the message a dress code should send…Also, dress code rules must be constant with students of all body types and genders. Students are not trying to fight adminstration on dress code, but simply asking to work with them on a reform that will keep all students comfortable, happy, confident, and in class.

(via Style.mic)

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