Students are being pulled aside or called to the office because of the clothing they choose to wear to school, clothing that violates the school dress code.  Social media is full of  stories with girls being sent home for what they are wearing, and some of these students claim that the dress codes at their schools are aimed mostly at female students. Claims that the schools are trying to make female pupils ashamed of their bodies are being made, along with the fact that the dress codes are too harsh and over the top.

With cases of dress code violations in other schools around the country, there have been punishments that have included violators being forced to wear a “Shame Sweatsuit”. BSHS principal Bill August said that such a punishment would never be implemented here at Big Spring.  August said that he believes that dealing with dress code violations “Shouldn’t be about punishment; it should be about getting things (dress standards) where they need to be and then moving on.” Currently, the Big Spring High School’s Dress Code states that “Students should dress for a work setting.”

Big Spring has never had a big problem with dress code violations. In past years, less than 1% of dress code violations have ended in a referral to the office. Our students are normally good at following the rules when it comes to dressing for school. Freshman Alyssa Teter said that she believes schools are “too worried about guys being distracted,” thus the stricter codes for females. Grace Patterson, also a freshman agrees, saying that “most (dress) codes are focused on girls.” Freshman student Allison Spencer made a good point when she said, “There is great intent in the codes promoting professionalism, (however), guys need to be taught to control themselves. Sophomore, Peyton Muzzy, said, “People here (Big Spring) don’t really talk about it (dress code).” He said that while most dress codes focus on females, he believes it to be because of the “clothing that guys wear just isn’t the same.” However, his makes the point that most schools enforce dress codes to an extreme, “as if revealing clothing is all women wear.” While Big Spring has stayed out of the controversy for now, with all of the cases of female body shaming using school dress codes, the question becomes how long until such cases come to Big Spring.