asucana waH school
The Little
Voice In
The Big
Crowd . . .
More On
The
Dress Code
Inside
Vol. 17, No. 5
Ashland High School, Ashland, Ore.
FRI., FEB. 27, 1970
AHS Coeds: Thow Off Your Dresses
EDITORIAL COMMENT CONCERNING THE DRESS CODE By Ken Conger
Here wc are on the brink of another vital issue, this
time involving the Ashland High dress code. After many
petitions, several discussions, numerous student council
activities, a few heated arguments, and a martyr for the
cause, it seems we still fall considerably short of our
goal. Feeling it is the proper time to take action, 1 am
taking this opportunity to speak out in favor of the
proposed dress code revision for four main reasons:
1 ) A dress code must reflect the current styles and be
flexible enough to change with them.
2) The proposed changes are well reasoned and not .
actually radical or especially new.
3) The dress code relieves the administration of
having to enforce an unrealistic dress code, yet retains
enough faculty control.
4) If accepted, the new dress code would be unlikely
to cause any radical changes in student grooming.
The first and main reason for wanting a code change
is based on the idea that any workable dress code must
realistically portray the style and mode of the times. The
present dress code does not. It leaves little or no leeway
for many styles of dress now popular and already
accepted in many schools across the country. It is not a
flexible guideline that can be easily modified, but a list
of vague rules left over from the "bobby sox era" to be
translated however, the administration sees fit at the
time. On the other hand, the proposed code includes
more modern modes of dress and provides the necessary
flexibility by setting up a revisions board to review any
future changes. Such a flexible and timely dress code is
vitally needed if we are to have a dress code at all.
Sometimes Pants
i "t
L'5
' ' mi in mi 1 -tit n)wH),jjiiinii ii
t 1 1 I t i - i j i
' i v V III I ? . I " 1
r "... Jj y ' .
The proposed changes offer a new and more realistic
mode of determining grooming habits, yet these changes
are not especially new and are far from radical in scope.
Similar dress codes have been adopted in many high
schools, two of which are in this very Rogue Valley. We
students have been taught all our lives to think for
ourselves and to stand up for what we believe. Sticking
to these democratic ideals, we have thought out the
dress code problem and come up with some valid and
substantial arguments, but how much real effect we have
on administrative decisions remains to be tested.
Essentially, the only major change taking place is a
shift of authority putting dress decisions into the
hands of the student and his parents where it belongs,
rather than burdening the administration with busy
work keeping tabs on hair and skirt lengths. At the same
time, the code retains sufficient faculty control in
questionable cases. If safety or health standards are in
clear violation, or if the student's appearance causes a
disturbance, the faculty can take the proper action. In
my humble opinion, these shoulc be the only times the
faculty or administration should have to worry about
student dress. I'm sure the administrators have much
better things to do than constantly scan hemlines and
sideburns for code offenders. (Even though it seems
that's all they ever do.) By rights, they should be freed
of this burden to concentrate on more academic and
scholarly pursuits in the interest of better education.
Finally, if the new dress code were established,
radical changes in student dressing habits would not be
likely. A popular misconception among adults is that
teenagers tend to dress only in what looks funky or
weird if given the chance to do so. Contrary to this
popular belief, most students strive to wear what looks
good on them, be it slacks or shirts, crewcut or beard.
An excellent example can be seen in other Jackson
county schools which adopted revised dress codes earlier
this year. The committee from AHS that was sent to
study the Medford High campus for dress habits report
that they saw very few who wore odd or repulsive styles.
The same report came from a student study trip to
Phoenix High. There hasn't been any evidence showing
that the schools' new dress codes have caused a decline
in academic areas or a rise in abnormal teenage
complexes, which should be reassuring to grade-worriers.
Many adults ask why we want to change the dress
code, yet the reasons should be obvious. Look around
you - all but one of the shots on this page were strictly
candid, taken at normal vision angles. (Guess which one
wasn't!) There are few things more revolting to me than
baggy, running nylons, exposed garters, and occasional
bulging girdle, and nameless lacy underthings glaring at
me everywhere I look. Don't look, you say, but how am
I to get up the stairs?
Unlike skirts and modesty, men's hair styles and
beards have many reasons to be grown, just pick the one
you like. My question is: What bearing does hair style or
beard length have on character or academic standing?
Many famouf men in history have grown long hair and
beards without apparent harm to their creative
capacities, (refer to next page) I personally would like to
grow a beard for any of the following reasons: 1) to
prove I can, 2) to show my prowess (choke!) 3) to hide
my zits, 4) to hide behind for security, or 5) to force
Gillette into bankruptcy. Any one of these could spur
me on, but the fact remains that it should be my own
choice.
Getting back to the basics, the many arguments boil
down to a few major reasons why we want to change the
code. The plan has had much forethought and
preparation work, and has already been successful in
several schools. The proposed changes are more realistic
and more flexible. They also stress individual discretion
and initiative, and spurs voluntary gooming habits.
We students should unite in our efforts to show the
administration and this community that we are
responsible people dedicated toward a common goal, to
make the dress code more fair and just for all involved.
We all have to sit down together and reason the problem
out in a rational manner. Sooner or later we will have to
come to the stark realization that crewcuts and
high-button shoes are but relics of a passing generation,
destined for constructive change.
... Look Nicer Than Dresses
in
r i ,v