Caroline King Fixes the Dress Code
Morgan’s Reformed Dress Code
In April of 2021, current senior Caroline King, wrote an article for The Morgan PawPrint about why she felt that Morgan’s dress code was unfair. She took matters into her own hands to help students feel comfortable about what they wear at school and avoid getting dress-coded. Her journey started in sixth grade when she realized that kids were not allowed to have dyed hair, and she did. That’s when she looked at the dress code closer and saw there were other unfair rules. It wasn’t until the second half of her sophomore year that she got a committee together. By the winter of her junior year, the committee met with Mr. and Mrs. Luther, along with other Morgan students to present to the Clinton Public Schools Board of Education. Caroline found out that the new dress code was placed district wide. King reflected, “The biggest part of it was trying to persuade people, and when you care about something so much you just want people, especially teachers and administration, to see your side.”
She says that her work allows students, specifically female students, to not be stressed out of their existence. It gives them the opportunity to express themselves and to not worry, What if I get dress coded? What if I look inappropriate? Caroline said, “You can no long be condemned for being too ‘distracting.’”
Here is the difference between the new and old dress code:
“What this does is remove the specific traits of female clothing/features that were targeted in the old dress code.” Caroline said, “This new rule says ‘cover up important parts’ while the other one is strict on types of clothing that female students wear.” She said she thinks it’s important to notice that students have a bigger impact than they think they have even if they’ve been told that it’s not possible, but it is possible. “Don’t be afraid to speak up, and don’t be afraid to challenge ideas that are set in stone.”
Kierra, a senior at The Morgan School, and it’s her first semester being part of the Morgan PawPrint, and she is the bulletin board manager. She hopes...