To many adults of a certain generation, dressing modestly at school should be a no-brainer. Terms like “individual style” and “fashion tend-setter” weren’t monikers along the lines of “class clown” and “most likely to succeed.” But it’s a different world now.
Atlanta Public Schools is considering a change to its dress code in response to a student petition protesting the out-of-date rules. Critics of the current clothing mandate say girls are unfairly targeted and that disclipline for violations has caused some students to miss class.
The suggested changes still require clothing to be “modest and of appropriate length.” And “extremely tight clothing,” saggy pants and visible underwear remain off limits.
The North Atlanta High School student handbook takes a firm stance on leggings. Girls may weat them, but only if the hem of the item covering the leggings is deemed long enough. The online version of the code states, “Leggings are like legs and must be appropriately covered.”
The online petition said high school girls were unfairly reprimanded for wearing leggings. It stated the girls wear leggings to be comfortable and not to be a distraction. It went on to add that “reprimanding females for dress code gives the notion that they are responsible for prioritizing boys’ focus in school.”
What do you think?
Should girls be allowed to wear leggings without the current restrictions? Or should the old dress code stand.
Send comments to communitynews@ajc.com. Responses may be edited for length and/or clarity and may be published in print and/or digital platforms.
LAST WEEK: WHEN AN ORGAN DONOR IS A CONVICTED CRIMINAL
Little A.J. Burgess desperately needs a kidney transplant, and his father Anthony Dickerson has been identified as a likely donor. But the procedure for the 2-year-old has been delayed by Emory University Hospital’s refusal to remove the father’s kidney. After Dickerson’s release from jail for violation of probation, Emory said it wanted to first see three months of good behavior from Dad to be sure the father will take responsibility for his own, healthy recovery.
Here’s what some readers had to say:
It seems to me that Emory is playing a game of covering their rear rather than doing all they can to take care of A.J.'s needs. Maybe their board members and attorneys should take a day to see the five bladder treatments and 10 hours of dialysis he endures! Emory has long been the epitome of hospitals in the South in my eyes, but right now Emory is very near its nadir in my thinking. – Barbara Billert
There's the "letter of the law" and the "spirit of the law" to consider in whether a 2-year-old boy gets a kidney he desperately needs. The donor is his father, a convicted felon, who has a healthy kidney to donate. Emory University Hospital officials are hiding behind the "letter of the law" by denying the operation, saying that they are simply following nationally accepted guidelines. The "spirit of the law" says that this is a child in need, and there is a healthy kidney available. Their ethical responsibility, and the actions they take, should be to save a life. – Jerry Schwartz
I am 83 years old and thought I had seen all the stupidity in one form or another that there is to see. I was wrong. Emory University Hospital has exceeded all stupidity expectations I ever thought I would live to see. Who cares what the father's behavior is after the surgery? As far as I am concerned, his behavior post-surgery is no one's business. If I needed a kidney, and the donor chose to rob a bank as soon as he got out of the hospital, why would that affect my new kidney or my health? If awards for stupidity are given out, for those Emory officials responsible for this decision to make the donation of a kidney contingent on the donor's behavior afterwards, the Stupidity Prize is theirs with no one else even close. – Bernard Ross
This little boy is a child of God, and he needs desperate help from his biological father, who has matched him for a kidney transplant. Please be humane and perform the surgery. He has suffered enough. – Hazel R. Bowles
David Ibata for the AJC
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