by Annie Alderman
I was walking across the freezing quad half asleep at 8 in the morning wishing it was still Christmas break. I sighed with relief and rolled up the sleeves of my gray STA sweatshirt as I walked in from the frigidly cold winter weather, into the heated Donnelly building, still shivering from the harsh January weather. I was hurrying to class worried that I would be late to first hour when I was stopped in the hall.
“Dang it,” I thought as I looked down and realized that I was wearing my gray St. Teresa’s swim and dive sweatshirt on a Thursday. I was told that if was seen wearing a sweatshirt on a non-sweatshirt day again I would receive a detention and SBR.
“An SBR, really,” I thought. It was snowing outside, of course I was wearing a sweatshirt, I didn’t want frostbite. I didn’t think that the fact that I didn’t want to freeze deserved an SBR. I was also once stopped on the first day of school no less for not wearing socks with my Sperry’s. Big deal, I forgot to put on socks, does that mean that I deserved to be punished? Of course it doesn’t. This to me proves that school administration is too strict on punishing students for minor infractions they see in the hallway during passing periods.
School administration should be worried about educating students, not the fact that they are wearing the wrong colored socks or a sweatshirt on the wrong day. Administration should focus on important things, not punishing students for insignificant mistakes.
Growing up I was always thought that school should be a safe place, but administration harsh punishments leave students walking the halls in fear of being harshly and unfairly punished. Students have enough to worry about: like grades, and sports and extracurricular actives. The last thing they need to worry about is the color of their socks.
I would understand being punished if the fact that I was wearing blue socks or a sweatshirt was disturbing the schools learning environment, but it’s not. Was the fact that I was wearing a sweatshirt for the ten seconds it takes to pass the Donnelly office’s that bothersome that I deserved to be punished?
School administration abuses their power when they punish students even when punishment isn’t necessary.
School administration needs to be easier on their students because high school is stressful enough, students shouldn’t have to worry about being punished for the color of their socks. Also, since SBR stands for student behavior report, an SBR shouldn’t be given for sock color, because last time I checked sock color wasn’t a behavioral issue. School would be much more pleasant if administration focused on real issues, and stop punishing students for insignificant infractions that take place while passing through the hallway.
Bailey • Oct 1, 2013 at 10:00 am
I agree with Maggie, and we should keep in mind how difficult it is for faculty to be in charge of enforcing rules when everyone is breaking them. Also, I think there is confusion on the rules: the only things that aren’t allowed are hoodies, quarterzips, and anything else with no zipper/buttons/Velcro/snaps down the middle. The STA fleece is for classrooms, you can wear whatever you want with zipper/buttons/Velcro/snaps down the middle outside the classroom. No sweatshirts besides Wednesday is a solid rule, temperature is no excuse.
Maggie • Oct 1, 2013 at 9:51 am
I don’t completely agree. I understand that it may be irritating to be late to class because a teacher asks you to remove your sweatshirt, but that problem can be easily avoided. The administration comes up with these rules for a reason: wearing uniforms makes students come to school looking presentable and prevents some students from feeling left out because they can’t afford to wear certain clothing items or brands. The rules are clearly stated in our student handbook, and we can easily access those rules by turning to page 2 in our planners. There, the rules say that sweatshirts may not be worn as jackets during school hours, which is why other options are provided. We may wear our sweaters or the fleece jackets during classes, and if it gets too cold, we are allowed to wear additional jackets when walking between buildings. The administration is always reminding us over the announcements that sweatshirts should be removed since they are not part of the uniform. They give us warnings every day, and the punishment isn’t harsh at all. When pulling that sweatshirt over your head, it should be kept in mind that if it isn’t a Wednesday, then there are certain punishments that you had full knowledge of before arriving at school.
The administration isn’t out to get us with these uniform policies, they want everyone to feel equal so that their minds can speak louder than their wardrobe. The uniform helps all of STA see who we really are, without having to fight through the slogan on the outside of your sweatshirt.
Emma Allen • Oct 1, 2013 at 9:46 am
Yeah, it can suck, but it is what it is. We go to an incredible school that gives us so much as students. Think about all the scholarships and financial aid STA gives to so many of our peers, including myself, that makes our education here possible. Without the sacrifices they make to help pay for many of our educations, there is a good sized group of students that wouldn’t be here. It would be crazy for me to complain about my school’s dress code when STA is doing so much for me and my future. All STA asks of us is to be good students in exchange for financial aid. The least we can do is abide by their rules.
Zoe • Oct 1, 2013 at 7:53 am
Amen! I don’t have time to stop in the middle of the hallway and take off a sweatshirt and then still have time to get to class. Let me be on time to my class and then when I get there I will take off my sweatshirt. And if the school is going to yell at us so much, they should offer better jackets than the polar fleece because those do nothing to warm you up when there is snow outside or the temp. is below 32 degrees.