The purpose for the EHS school dress code as stated in the 2022-2023 student handbook is “to dress and groom in a manner that meets reasonable community standards… while not disrupting the educational process.” However, for multiple students at EHS, it has done the opposite.

Senior Mariah Jackson was dress-coded during her lunch on Friday, Aug 19. She was sent down to the office and given an EHS football shirt, but Jackson was not told what about her outfit was in violation of the dress code.

“I just missed my lunch, I had 10 minutes left by the time I was changing so I just didn’t eat lunch that day,” Jackson said.

On the same day as Jackson’s violation, seniors Ashlyn Hauk and Ava Waltenberger were also dress-coded as they walked into the building. The two were given a box of miscellaneous EHS shirts to put on, but they decided to go home and change. 

“We missed our whole first hour and it was the third day of school,” Hauk said. “That was our choice to leave and come back, I understand that, but I didn’t want to wear the shirt.”

The seniors are  three of many to have their school day interrupted by a staff member telling them to “cover up.” A poll taken by 710 EHS students states that 28% of them have been dress coded at school. Of that percentage, approximately 80% of them were girls. 

“What are you trying to prove by telling every single girl who walks into the school that they need to cover up?,” Waltenberger said.

Of the students who were polled, 83% of them said they did not agree with how the dress code was being enforced. One of these students, junior Lily Jarman, was vocal on social media about her opinion. Jarman posted multiple times to Snapchat on Thursday, Aug 18 in opposition to the school dress code.

“The reason I’m speaking up so much [is because] a lot of people have said ‘just follow the rules,’” Jarman said. “I know it’s the rules, but I want us to change the perspective of society.”

Jarman has been dress-coded multiple times so far this school year. Throughout her school career, the dress code has had a strong and negative impact on her mentally.

“As a younger kid, you really just feel ashamed of yourself and objectified because you have someone old enough to be a parent telling you what to wear and what not to wear,” Jarman said. 

Like Jarman, Jackson felt that the dress code often oversteps a boundary between students and those who enforce the rules.

“The biggest thing for me is having a middle-aged man, who’s not my father, telling me to cover up,” Jackson said. “Why are you paying attention to that anyways?”