LHS Dress Code

[Ivor Karabatkovic]

I'll jump in on this one- specifically because it was the dress code that sparked me to pick up a pen (or keyboard) and voice my opinion on the matter when I was a student at LHS.

This dress code was implemented my sophomore year of high school. Hoodies were banned, and I remember the administration saying any clothing that was not school pride related that has a logo bigger than a quarter was also banned. I quickly began assembling a team of about 150 students and raised funds to print neon t-shirts with giant quarters printed on the front. I'm talking the size of an apple pie. I was all about showin' up the man, man.

I ended up in the principals office. Thankfully I had a principal that was always willing to listen to what we as a student body had to say. The t-shirt plan was foiled, we got a bit of freedom and I penned my first piece for the LHS Times. I remember being met with opposition from parents on the deck while trying to explain where the students are coming from.

skip to my point:
While I get that on the surface it looks like a bunch of kids complaining about not being able to wear hoodies, for me, there is a much bigger issue here.

My hope is that these students voice their opinions and are not scared away from doing so. My hope is that the leaders in the building encourage dialogue and growth because it is how young teens transition into competent voters and citizens. My hope is that parents ask their kids what their opinions are, and this becomes an open door for open dialogue on future issues that are much bigger than hoodies and bras. We need to raise kids to be able to voice their displeasure safely and respectfully, and most importantly inspire them to come up with reasonable solutions to disagreements. This is how they develop their critical thinking. Some of our current leaders on social injustices were quirky kids who looked at the world, found their calling to fight for something and dreamed big enough and did it. No matter the odds or the amount of people who told them that things just won't change.

I'm not a parent, but I know my parents never backed down from an opportunity to let me think for myself and develop an opinion. Also, no matter how right or wrong my position was on issues, the fact that taking a stand was encouraged and welcomed by my teachers and principals helped shape me for the better.

Carry on..

[Phil Florian]

Jim, how in any possible way does this story about students protesting what they perceive as an unjust dress code in any way connect to the Mayor's office? I think the monomaniacal focus on that one issue, regardless of its journalistic validity, has kind of blinded you to other stories going on in the 'wood.

"Nothing to see her, move along" threatens to be the mantra of the LO with that kind of thinking.



Glad others on here are glad to see this story moving forward.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Jim, how in any possible way does this story about students protesting what they perceive as an unjust dress code in any way connect to the Mayor's office? I think the monomaniacal focus on that one issue, regardless of its journalistic validity, has kind of blinded you to other stories going on in the 'wood.

"Nothing to see her, move along" threatens to be the mantra of the LO with that kind of thinking.



Glad others on here are glad to see this story moving forward.

Phil

There is no denying it. Nothing bothers me more than unethical and morally corrupt
elected officials.

But no, that is not the reason why I am jaded on this one.

At the same time the Observer is about your observations not "reporters" so what did
you think about it? What did you see? Any photos?



.

[Corey Rossen]

Jim, I believe the question was...

Jim, how in any possible way does this story about students protesting what they perceive as an unjust dress code in any way connect to the Mayor's office?

I do not think your response came close to addressing the question.

Corey

[Alex Belisle]

This was my response to Stephanie Toole's excellent comment regarding the importance of civil discourse to the education of students on Facebook: "Civil discourse is an important part of their education. To exercise civil disobedience and dissent as Abe Fortas said is a constructive alternative to violence and was key to the civil rights movement in our country."

Hopefully (I asked her) she will come on the Deck to participate in our conversation

[Jim O'Bryan]

Jim, I believe the question was...

Jim, how in any possible way does this story about students protesting what they perceive as an unjust dress code in any way connect to the Mayor's office?

I do not think your response came close to addressing the question.

Corey

Corey

Ask Phil, he brought them in.

I see not connection unless the girls were compulsive liars, then the connection would be easy.

.

[Corey Rossen]

Jim, I believe the question was...

Jim, how in any possible way does this story about students protesting what they perceive as an unjust dress code in any way connect to the Mayor's office?

I do not think your response came close to addressing the question.

Corey

Corey

Ask Phil, he brought them in.

I see not connection unless the girls were compulsive liars, then the connection would be easy.

.

Again, not understanding your non-response.

You wrote...

Merely side entertainment to forget the ethically challenged city hall.

.

Then you say there is "no connection unless the girls were compulsive liars."

This goes way beyond threat drift.

First they are connected (by means of distraction from City Hall), now they are not?

I need a better decoder ring to decipher your posts.

Corey

[Phil Florian]

Corey, thanks for jumping in. You said exactly my point. Jim, you use your now-patended
"nothing to see here, move along" which makes me wonder why you would post that at all in a thread that you had no interest in and then end, as Corey thankfully quoted, saying this thread was "merely side entertainment to forget the ethically challenged city hall." Just want to know how one connects to the other.

I gotta say, this discussion was far from a distraction with the Observation Deck's obsession with City Hall. At the time I am posting this response, 18 out of the 30 posts on the front page of the Deck are about the Hospital and Mayor Summers. Fear not, this is far from distracting.

As to my observations on the event, I noted those in my first response in this thread (namely, I support this cause). While I have no pics of the event I have talked nightly with my high school daughter who is friends with one of the 2 girls cited. I am glad for the protest and glad for the conversations it has caused in our home and I hope moving forward with a larger community discussion of the gender politics implied by the code itself. I look forward to more discussions here and at the dinner table. If they are not too distracting, I guess.