Reading the Kaneland High School student handbook made me realize that almost all the rules of dress code aims to hide females’ shoulders and other body parts. The average student’s outfit is usually a t-shirt and jeans. Although, in the beginning and end of the year, Kaneland school district tends to be really strict. The changes in the weather allow opportunity for “short shorts” and tank tops to be worn to keep cool.

Recently, KHS has loosened the reins on their “short shorts” policy saying that shorts must be folded and not “ripped, with holes” in an untasteful manner. Tasteful could be a variety of lengths, whether it’s borderline skin exposure or upper thigh. The point is that it solely depends on the person. The change of rules is refreshing, but the matter of no tank tops or “spaghetti straps” still targets female students and staff.

There have not been recent studies justifying that shoulders distract males, so the dress code is merely a precaution without any actual reasoning. The sixth dress code rule in the KHS student handbook states that “males and females” must have shirts covering the shoulders attempting to apply this rule to both sexes. The reality of the situation is that besides “muscle tanks” or sleeveless shirts, that rule does not apply to males. If it didn’t apply to the guys, female students wouldn’t get distracted from school work because a classmates arms were exposed.

It’s easy to get lost in the policies of the handbook. Don’t get me wrong, some do make sense. There is no reason for excess skin to be hanging out of shorts due to lack of length. Although, they shouldn’t try to make it seem like they aren’t over sexualizing female students and staff by saying males apply to this rule as well. The seventh dress code rule says that “blouses and shirts must not be unbuttoned in a revealing matter.” I think “revealing manner” means cleavage and bare skin showing, but what I think can be perceived differently than a teacher.

Personally, I don’t think skin should be shown to the world, but if parents let their children out of the house wearing that, then why does the school have to restrict them? There’s no other reason than the “disruption of the learning environment.”

Whether or not a student’s outfit is a “disruption” is a pure matter of opinion. For example, a male teacher could think that Suzie’s outfit is unacceptable, but a female teacher could say that Suzie’s outfit is stylish and perfectly acceptable for school.

It’s clearly said in the handbook that “When a student is not properly dressed, teachers have the authority to request the student to change attire.” There should be set standards on what is “decent” in the eyes of administration instead of leaving the decision up to whoever believes the student is dressed inappropriately.

The way that male students react and think about female students’ sexuality is something that can not be easily changed. The dress code should be rules that are black and white, with no gray areas containing matter of opinion in between for a fair playing field.