On Monday the 10th of April, 15 girls were ushered into the JUG Room in Adelphia. The majority of them were there because of ripped jeans. “What baffles me is… that I had been wearing those jeans all year and no one said anything” claims Hattie KenKnight, a sophomore who was given JUG the same day.
The Prep dress code states that students may not wear clothing with rips, holes, inappropriate messages, short skirts/shorts, spaghetti straps or tube tops. Although this has been part of the rule book for some time, students usually are not likely to receive JUG or be disciplined. This sudden enforcement of the dress code raised questions in the minds of some students. The week before, Mr. Stearns sent out a reminder to students about Prep’s dress code policy. Mr. Stearns explained that “I have heard many people recently wondering to what extent we are following the dress code, so that is why I sent the reminder to all students.”
Even after the reminder, students continued to wear ripped clothing. Kenknight ’19 was confused on why ripped jeans were prohibited in the first place; “It’s part of women’s fashion right now and I feel like we should be able to express that. I don’t really see what the big deal is with the amount of skin showing.” When asked why ripped jeans are part of the dress code, Mr. Stearns said: “I think we need to have standards of behavior and expectations around all things, including how we appear. I’m not promoting that we have a strict dress code, but I think that if anyone looks at any of the other Jesuit or Catholic schools in the area, I think you’ll find our dress code is the most lenient and forgiving of all of them, without exception.”
So though there may be some disparity in terms of supporting the dress code, it’s clear that Prep’s new enforcement policy is here to stay.