In previous years at North Harford High School, the dress code included multiple regulations to shirts that students could wear. The straps for shoulders were to be at least two fingers wide, causing many to be dress-coded for thin spaghetti straps on tank tops. 

     For the 2021-2022 school year, the dress code has changed. On page 13 of the school provided planner, it is stated that “all tops must have shoulder straps.” This rule is not specific to the thickness of the strap, giving girls the freedom to wear tank tops with spaghetti straps. 

     Although there is more freedom, there are still rules permitting specific clothing. Shirts must have straps, preventing students from wearing tube tops. Also, the midriff and chest areas must be covered. Will this cause conflict for the many who wear cropped shirts, since it is a large part of teenage style at the moment?

     Senior Chloe Romm said, “the new dress code changes will be good for the double standard and is more fair.” While the dress code is applied to both males and females, Romm and others believe the previous regulations were more specific to females and their current trends of clothing. Although Romm believes this change is for the good, she will not participate in changing her attire for this school year. 

     Similarly, freshman Ava Perron said, “I am glad they have changed the rule.” Although not shocked by the change, Perron thinks the rule was changed because so many students violated the dress code to begin with. 

     Even with the punishments for dress code violations in the last years, “no one seemed to care if they got dress-coded,” says junior Lindsey Bittner. These protests against the dress-code and recent social media posts gives Bittner justification over the recent changes. 

     Recently on social media pages, such as Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Instagram, women all over the country have been protesting over their school rules. These students claim the rules are ‘ridiculous,’ giving way to the changes in our school and many all over the country. 

     From a teacher’s perspective, the new dress code regulations can also be seen as a positive change. Math teacher Mrs. Jenny Beigel notes “the change is an advantage because less students are being pulled out of class for attire conflicts.” 

     With the previous attire code, students were being dress-coded during class times, a time devoted to learning. In a building that should be focused on education, dress-coding the straps on tops is taking away from students time in class, ultimately disrupting their learning time in the school building, according to Beigel. 

     As a teacher, the new changes will not affect Beigel’s attire. . Bittner also said “I will probably not wear spaghetti straps,” as this style is not a part of her normal clothing. 

    Beigel said “student, parent, and community complaints” are possible reasons for the recent changes.  Many felt that previous code  was outdated or even biased to girls who want to wear tops with thin straps. 

      Although the dress code has changed, giving more leeway to wear tank tops, remember there are still rules for this year that regulate what students cannot wear. Shirts exposing midriff and hats are a few examples of what is prohibited for this year.