Recently, communities input their opinions as to what changes could be made to the SR&R (Student’s Rights and Responsibilities). One of six revisions was to adjust the Virginia dress code policy. A variety of changes were suggested, such as the installment of prohibiting students from wearing bralettes, bandeaux, sports bras, and other undergarments unless completely covered by clothing that’s deemed appropriate. Another of the prominent proposed adjustments to the FCPS dress code was the prohibition of students being allowed to wear pajamas, except for spirit days and weeks or pajama days. In the case of a student not complying with these new altercation rules, they could be taken out of the class and may receive disciplinary action from staff. 

   Many students here at Oakton enjoy wearing attire such as pajama pants and bralettes, and some had a lot to say about the proposed changes to the dress code. One student, Cedar Skaggs (Freshman) is in opposition of the possible installments. “Other than the pj pants being removed, I feel as if it’s really targeted towards the young women in our schools,” stated Cedar. “We’re teenagers. This is the style, this is what people wear today, and for you (the FCPS school system) to be limiting how we choose to represent ourselves is really hurtful,” she added. When asked how she thought other students would take the news of a possible new dress code, Cedar responded with “I really feel like it’s the staff who is proposing this (new dress code) and not the students, because I have not heard a single student saying that crop tops are so profane or pj pants are distracting.” “I feel like students are probably not even going to listen to it, they’re probably going to try and go against it,” she furthered her argument. 

   On the other hand, other students feel more neutral towards the potential new dress code rules. “I don’t think that they (the school) should have a difficult time with the pajama pants, as long as they cover you up it should be fine,” replied Ellie Armentrout (Freshman) when asked how she felt about the proposed dress code changes. “As for the really short shirts, I get where they’re coming from, but I don’t really wear them, so it doesn’t really affect me,” she explained. Ellie’s response to the question regarding how others would feel towards the dress code changes was similar to Cedar’s. “I don’t think they (students) are going to take it very well, and I honestly don’t think people are going to follow it unless they (school officials, administrators) actually enforce it.”

   Since some students were interviewed to get their opinions on the proposed changes to the dress code, I decided to also interview a staff member to see what their thoughts were on the same topic. “I personally feel like there is not much of a fine line between pajama pants and joggers or leggings,” said Maureen Polly, learning disabilities teacher. She further responded with her opinion on the possible dress code changes regarding bralettes and crop tops with “I mean midriffs are one thing because I know that that’s sort of the style right now, but sometimes I feel as if you need to reinstate what the line is.” “A crop top is different from a bralette that’s just completely low cut and also barely covers anything,” she further explained. Ms. Polly thought similarly to the others interviewed in the sense that she believes the students would not be very enthusiastic about these possible changes. “I have a strong feeling that the students will not be very happy about it and I also have a feeling that there’s going to be some students wearing those things (possibly prohibited clothing) in protest,” responded Ms. Polly.