Posted on 04/30/2004 11:00:07 AM PDT by presidio9
Malena Schroeder is fed up.
She's fed up with high school students wearing visible thong underwear, blue jeans that droop low on the hips or skimpy blouses that show - in her opinion - too much skin.
A Mundelein High School District 120 board member who also regularly volunteers at the school, Schroeder doesn't consider herself prudish. But she's tired of walking through the school hallways and seeing provocatively dressed kids who look like they popped out of a racy music video.
"If I'm an adult and I'm distracted, I can only imagine what effect it might have on teenagers in that environment," she said.
During a board meeting earlier this week, Schroeder called for administrators to more stringently enforce the facility's dress code or adopt stricter rules that could include uniforms. She received support from other trustees and from audience members who applauded her request.
The proposal also was backed by Superintendent Stan Fields, who promised a committee will study the issue.
"There's something to be said for preparing students for life after high school and (teaching) appropriate grooming habits and dress habits," Fields said. "It's pretty difficult to get a job when your rear end is hanging out."
Mundelein isn't the only suburban high school wrestling with dress-code concerns. Wauconda High School and the other schools in Wauconda Unit District 118 tightened clothing policies for the 2003-04 term, banning belly-baring tops, low-rise pants and other revealing garments.
Similar rules have been adopted in recent years at high schools in Buffalo Grove, Naperville, St. Charles and other towns.
Public-school dress codes, including those requiring students wear uniforms, are legal under Illinois and federal laws. Although courts have ruled garments with political slogans are protected by the First Amendment, educators can restrict the size or style of student clothing.
"You have the right to free expression. You probably don't have the right to show off your belly ring," said Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) of Illinois.
Mundelein High updated its dress code in 2002. Among the restrictions is a rule requiring clothes cover all skin and underwear between the armpit and mid-thigh.
Violators can be asked to change into more appropriate clothes or wear a baggy Mundelein High T-shirt over offending garments, school spokeswoman Kelley Happ said. On "rare occasions," she said, some are sent home.
Schroeder, who has two teenagers enrolled at Mundelein, believes those rules aren't properly enforced. Too many times she's seen students with pants that don't cover their underwear or whose shirts reveal skin at the midriff.
"It's become the norm," she said. "There's a time and a place for that kind of dress. It shouldn't be school attire."
If parents can't control what their kids wear, Schroeder said, school administrators or the board must step in and make sure teens are dressed appropriately. If that means stronger enforcement of the existing dress code or the adoption of uniforms, she said, so be it.
"It's our responsibility to make sure that our kids can focus and have some decorum," Schroeder said.
Mundelein High junior Stephanie Urban thinks officials who want to crack down on dress-code abuses are overreacting. Students dress better than they used to, she said.
Jessy Wisniewski, another junior, likes to wear shorts or skirts to school and said she has been sent home for sporting clothes considered too risque.
"I'm 16. I can legally drive. But people are going to tell me (what's) appropriate for school?" she said. "I mean, I'm not coming to school dressed in a bikini."
Students who oppose uniforms may have a surprising ally: board President Thomas M.P. Hannigan, who thinks better enforcement of the existing code is the answer.
"My high school had a uniform. My grammar school had a uniform. And I don't think I learned any better because of that," Hannigan said. "I think we have a reasonable dress code. Before the school board jumps in and makes changes, let's see how an enforced dress code works."
Dress: Board president doesn't back uniforms
Not wise at all. She was perfection.
Yes, little missy, there's a reason your parents have to pay higher insurance premiums for your driving privileges and yes, people will tell you what to wear. Unfortunately, little missy's parents' haven't done their job so it's left up to the community to dictate her inappropriate clothing. I volunteer at school and let's just say my kids are deprived. Poor things have to wear their pants at their waists and I better not be able to see a dime in their back pocket. They will also wear bras and shirts that do not show more than what they were meant to cover up. Our middle school and lower grades have more appropriate dress codes and every few days during morning announcements they will instruct the teachers to send those not following the code to the office to spend the day there, in d-hall, or mommy can bring them appropriate wear. Of course in high school girls dress like sluts and the guys are constantly losing their pants. There's not a day that I don't see at least 3 pairs of baggies that don't fall around ankles and the guys simply don't care. One would think having that cute girl in History class see your skid marks would deter baggies but it doesn't. Mr. M has shaken his head over one girl for a couple years who insists on wearing super tight white pants with colorful panties. He wasn't surprised when she turned up pg. Another parent is still trying to put his eyes back in his head after going to a youth stock show and a girl about 14 was struting around with pants so low that hair was showing. Bottom line, it's not the times or the kids. It's not even the school that's at fault. It's the parents not taking responsibility. It's the parents who buy the clothes. It's the parents who let them walk out the door dressed like lord knows what. It's the parents who are responsible for their minor children. It's the parents' job to teach their children morals, values, and the difference in right from wrong.
Not true, actually. Kids don't lose their rights once they enter a school. A dress code or uniform, however, is quite constitutional.
Funny, my pencil had the opposite problem!
My wife is a size 14 or 16, and at 6', she doesn't look heavy at all.
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