Throughout the years, the school has kept a reasonable dress code. No shorts too short, no facial piercing, and no cut offs. Hair dye was allowed for the most part, and girls could wear comfortable summer dresses without worries. All of this changed with the new dress code that was instilled this year.

This year, we are not allowed to have jeans with holes in them. No hair dye is allowed. No shorts, dresses, or skirts that are a dollar width above the knee, and no shirts that show the shoulder. The new changes have been a little difficult to follow, especially for the juniors and seniors who have been enrolled in the high school long enough to know what we have been allowed to wear in the past. “Finding an appropriate outfit for school when the temperatures are so high is very frustrating this year,” said senior Ashley Mills.

In years past, shorts of all kinds were allowed. When it came to dresses and skirts, there wasn’t much of a rule.. Outrageous hair dyes were something students thought very little about. Now, everything has changed.

One new rule is that all hair dye must be a natural color. I believe hair dye can be self expression. Maybe someone feels most beautiful with purple hair. Maybe someone is celebrating breast cancer awareness and decides to go pink. Why must they stop themselves because a school rule forbids it? In the past, it has been deemed “distracting,” but students have debunked this fact in previous years by getting away with it.

Another rule that doesn’t completely make sense is the “holey” jean rule. This year, all slits, rough patches, and holes became forbidden. We are, although, allowed to wear shorts. So why can’t we have holes a dollar width from the knee and below?

The shorts rule is understandable. After going year after year with students who chose to wear a minimum amount of clothing, I’m not as hostile about this rule. It is school after all.

While I find the new school dress code as frustrating as the next person, if you know me, you know I must always find something positive in a situation. Despite the frustration with the new school dress code, we must remember that we only spend a few hours, five days a week here at DCHS, and then we are free to express ourselves through our clothing. We must also remember what it is really preparing us for, which is our future careers which will actually pay us to wear clothes we don’t want to.

So use this time to learn the best way to rock natural colored hair with sleeves on your shirts and new looking jeans. These lessons will benefit us one day.