Hats. Spaghetti straps. Even pajamas. These are all examples of clothing articles that are deemed inappropriate for school wear according to the student handbook. Students have in many instances have been reprimanded for violations they saw as minuscule.

“Nobody’s ever actually told me the reason we can’t wear hats other than that it’s disrespectful,”  junior Simon George said. “Nobody’s told me why it’s disrespectful.”

Hats are a very common dress code misdemeanor. The handbook states that any form of headwear is explicitly prohibited within the school building. Some teachers don’t enforce the rule, but others are adamant about it

“The biggest reason I choose to enforce [no headwear] is because it is a school policy,” PHS learning center teacher Ms. Shelley Heny said. “At the beginning of the year, Mr. Wormald said we were going with a no hat/hood policy, so that is why I enforce it.”

Although headwear is enforced pretty strictly, some aspects of the dress code are typically ignored. Especially when it comes to males.

The idea of dress inequality is speculated and controversial but is evident in some cases. If a male can wear a cutoff that exposes the side of his torso throughout the entire school, then why can’t a female do the same?

Guys wearing cutoff shirts that may reveal a bit too much are generally accepted but that begs the question, what if a female wore the same thing to school? 

“Some of the guys have bigger chests than I do and wear cutoffs just as revealing and short shorts as well.” junior Gracie Wolff said. “If a girl did that they would probably get dress coded but guys never do.”

So what is actually being covered up? Students, or the truth?