For years, Delphi Community High School has fought with students about the dress code. Many students feel that the dress code is unfair, unrealistic, and not enforced on everyone. Many administrators feel that the school needs a dress code in order to keep students from dressing inappropriately. One teacher has decided, whether the dress code is fair or not, to take a stand in the opposite direction. Mr. Tonsoni, teacher to juniors and seniors, has come up with “Fancy Fridays,” where students and teachers dress formally.
The dress code states that shorts and skirts can be no longer than a dollar bill-length (2 ½ inches) above the knee, all sleeves are required to reach the end of the shoulder, and that hair is to be a natural color. These are only a few of the dress requirements, and the ones that cause the most outrage among the students. However, no longer are the students the only ones suffering from dress code. Last year, the “Casual Fridays” that teachers were able to enjoy were taken away. This acted as the catalyst of Mr. T’s Fancy Fridays.
“Since the Casual Fridays were taken away and we were going to have to dress differently anyway, I decided to start Dress-Up Fridays. Although, people thought ‘dress-up’ meant costumes, so it got changed to Fancy Fridays,” said Mr. Tonsoni.
For the students who don’t have Mr. T in class, Fancy Fridays encourage everyone to dress as fancy and elegantly as they like, as a way to show that students and teachers can follow the dress code. It’s also to influence the students: “It’s okay to dress professionally,” Mr. Tonsoni encouraged. “[Fancy Fridays] are a way to say, ‘We understand the rules’.” Another thing that Mr. Tonsoni would like to accomplish with Fancy Fridays is a camaraderie between the students and himself.
As for the issue of dress code itself, Mr. Tonsoni had a thoughtful and respectful comment. “Dress code is necessary. We can’t have students showing up in swim suits to school, obviously, so we have to set a limit. However, dress codes are different for adults, and you have to take both sides into account. All in all, I think it’s impossible to enforce, and you have to either go to one extreme or the other.”
Mr. Tonsoni is very excited about his Fancy Fridays, and he’s excited that kids are taking an interest. “Instead of punishing kids, I’m looking forward to working with them. Encouraging them to dress decently instead of stretching the dress code, it leads students to understand the importance of dress.”
One fun thing about Fancy Fridays is that it allows students to dress as nice as they want without feeling singled out. How fancy should one dress? Mr. T says that a nice shirt and jeans are fine. It’s all about making an effort to dress nicer than you normally do. As for Mr. Tonsoni, “I may or may not end up in a tux by the end of the year.”