Along with the new school year, Glenbard South has decided to make the dress code more black and white. Glenbard South Dean Amy Velasquez said, “We’ve tried to define something that was more of a broad statement.”

The purpose of the dress code was to create a decent and healthy environment for the school. This year there has been a little more of a rouse when it comes to dress code, but Ms. Velasquez stated, “Every year at the beginning of the year, it’s (dress code) a deal. It’s not an issue usually in December.”

This was not true for the dress code was the same as it has been for the past few years. Last year it stated that shorts could not go beyond mid thigh and that one’s finger straps should be no more than an individual’s three fingers. Many have been wondering what the dress code exactly was because there have been various claims. A students’ shorts must be three and a half inches, or the ID’s length from the bottom of one’s knee. This was consistent for the past three years and has been enforced every year. Only this time around, the Administration added the ID measurement to help parents and their students best decide what clothes were appropriate to buy to be worn to school.

The other rule that has gone along with the newer ID measurement was that one’s shoulder straps cannot be less in width than their ID and that straps should cover most of one’s shoulders. Spaghetti straps and see-through straps are not allowed, along with any shirt that shows students’ undergarments. Shirts must cover the midriff, meaning no cropped tops and they cannot be see through. “Nothing else is banned,” said Amy Velasquez.

The leggings dispute was a question among the students and now its rests as being clarified. If apparels are claimed see-throughs, they cannot be worn. Sagging pants that expose one’s undergarments, for example, is against the code. What the Administration done specifically was that they defined mid thigh in the policy. There have always been discrepancies regarding this, previously stating it might have been fingertips or exactly halfway down their thigh.  Due to the number people sent to the dean last year with this, Glenbard South Administrators defined the three and a half inch guidelines. As a result of this, students were more aware of the dress code and there have been significantly reduced number of offenders.

Along with these guideline there have been a significant amount of student responses that pertain to the dress code enforcement. Petitions and organized groups against the code stated that it’s sexist and that it is discriminating towards the female embodiment of Glenbard South students. A sophomore at Glenbard South said that,  “They’re sexualizing women. They’re making us do everything [change our clothes] for the guys. If someone is comfortable with their body, let them show it.”

On the contrary, the new enforcement of the dress code brought positive side effects. There have been half the number of dean consequences this year because students were more aware of existence and rulings of the code.

The dress code made it easier to have no distractions and bettered the quality of the education that the school offers. “The dress code is not new. It is just being enforced at the beginning of the year more than it had been done in previous years,” said librarian Mrs. Mankowski.