In April of 2021, Kayley Ramirez, who was a junior at the time, started a petition protesting the dress code at South High School. The petition currently has 536 signatures. With the weather constantly changing, female students are getting told to change their outfits on a daily basis. I had the opportunity to sit down and ask students how they felt about the dress code.

I created a survey and asked students take it. 79 out of the 81 students agreed that the dress code should change.

Many female students have questioned why, them as minors, are being sexualized in an environment that is meant to be seen as a safe, secure building. Posts online have asked why schools focus on shoulders, stomachs, and knees instead of educating others to respect the female body.

“I think [the dress code] is harmfully affecting women” said Anthony Gonzalez-Medina, a sophomore.

Teens on social media have called out schools for feeding into ‘rape culture’.

Rape culture is a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect or normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse. School staff could be unconsciously adding fuel to the fire when they pull students out of class to change.

“I’ve never once in my life seen a male get dress coded” Maddie Leiker-Walter, a junior, stated.

Other male students said the dress code may depend on favoritism and the size of the student.