Throughout high schools across the country, there has been an age-old debate. Should kids be allowed to wear hats to class? At PHS, the answer has always been a hard and firm no. Despite attempts to override the rule, our school has been hatless for years. 

While PHS allows hats outside the building or in the football stands, hats have never been allowed inside the school building. Many students would like to wear hats simply as a fashion accessory, while some enjoy the convenience of getting ready that comes with a hat.

“[If you wear a hat],” freshman Nathan Preator said. “Then you don’t have to do your hair.” 

Others agree with the school’s requirement that hats should not be worn inside. 

“I think from a safety point of view, hats can make identifying someone who maybe shouldn’t be in the school difficult,” senior Kalin Hicswa said. “I also just think it’s unnecessary. The whole point of a hat is to keep the sun out of your face. Indoors, that’s not usually the issue, so what’s the point.”

However, as students graduate and begin to attend colleges and universities, the rules and regulations around dress code lessen more and more, so why have they been so strict in high schools?

“In college, there are very few instances where the institution is concerned about students wearing hats,” PHS graduate and University of Wyoming student Jace Bohlman said. “The only times I have seen any policy talked about is in exams, especially large exams. Professors will have you turn your hat backward in an attempt to prevent cheating. For most on-campus jobs, you also aren’t supposed to wear a hat but I have never seen it enforced. For the most part, no one cares.”

Whether or not PHS will ever allow a change to the no hat rule is debatable. Neighboring schools such as Cody High School have allowed students to wear hats indoors for years. 

“I doubt [that PHS will change the no hat rule],” Hicswa said. “I’ve heard people talk to Mr. Wormald and just other teachers about it and few of them are for hats. Cody is just another little world to be honest.”