It’s the beginning of April, that wonderful time of year when Mr. Hynes comes over the loud speaker to remind all of us that warm weather is here. And with this anticipation of the wonderful welcome of sunny skies and spring breezes comes the reminder of the infamous North Penn policy; the dress code. As a senior here at North Penn, I have lived through this annual reminder for three years, and I have developed some opinions about these policies that I know I share with others. Some of my views agree with the high school’s standards, while others disagree. Either way, as the temperature climbs, North Penn students do need a structured set of rules to follow when it comes to getting dressed in the morning.

Let’s start off with the boy’s dress code policy. For the men, the dress codes required by the school are really not too much to ask for, and all of them I completely agree with.

The first rule and the easiest of all dress code regulations to abide by: keep your pants pulled up. Never will I ever understand why boys walk around with their shorts purposely below their butt. Actually, my personal favorite is when they even wear a belt to make sure their pants hang below their derriere . Men, you look absolutely ridiculous. Regardless of whether or not North Penn requires you to have your pants above your waist, girls do not find your bright blue boxers attractive. Picture a boy with low pants on trying to run and you will understand it’s humorous. And ridiculous. To the boys who partake in this fashion faux pas: you’re only making a fool of yourself and drawing the attention of hundreds of kids, rolling their eyes.

I have a hard time understanding how any North Penn boy has trouble not following the dress code.  It isn’t that hard. Here are the basic elements of a typical high school boys wardrobe: a hoodie, a pair of jeans, some basketball shorts, a t-shirt, a button down for those days where you just want to look nice, and of course a styling pair of khakis for khak-wednesday. If I were a teenage boy, I would literally wear some combination of these articles of clothing every day. As a girl who is constantly pressured to live up to society’s standards of nice hair, perfect makeup and styling outfits, I envy how comfortable you all can be on a daily basis and still look presentable. Men of North Penn, you have wonderful options here to dress comfortably, appealingly, and appropriately. Exercise your right as a male and take advantage of these opportunities.

Now onto the female portion of the North Penn dress code. Obviously ladies have a much more diverse wardrobe than men do in the spring months, therefore there restrictions on what they can and cannot wear in the high school hallways is a bit more detailed. Some of these regulations I agree with, and some I do not. However you may be surprised to know that my opinions that I am going to express come from not how the ladies of North Penn should dress, but how they actually do dress.

First of all let’s establish one thing: North Penn is air conditioned. The high school hallways typically stay around 70 degrees on a daily basis. Granted, however, I know certain pods are much warmer than others. For example, I know from experience A-pod could at times be compared to a sauna by the time the beginning of June rolls around.

This brings me to my next point. Ladies: why are you wearing strapless shirts to school? I agree with tank tops, in fact I think the three finger rule is a little ridiculous as long as the shirt looks appropriate on you. Loose, flowing tanks are in style right now and one of the staples of every girl’s summer wardrobe. Therefore I think that North Penn should allow you to wear them. However there is a fine line between floral summer blouses and tight tube tops and colored camisoles. Again, North Penn is 70 degrees. You have to be cold; you look like you’re cold. And you also look like you are trying too hard. Those shirts are only appropriate when you are outside on a warm 85 degree day, however the only time you get to experience that weather during the North Penn school day would either be at lunch or in between classes. The ratio of indoor to outdoor time should regulate what you wear to school, not what the weatherman predicts is going to be the high for the day.

North Penn’s “fingertip” policy in regards to the length of shorts length is not something that I agree with. As a girl with long arms, I don’t think it’s fair that my only option for school appropriate shorts is Bermudas. Although North Penn does enforce this policy, girls do get away with some pretty questionable shorts. My personal opinion: girls wear shorts that are, perhaps, palms length. The policy should really be, if you have to think twice before you leave for school in the morning, “Are these shorts long enough for school?”, you may want to just go change It is 70 degrees in North Penn. Look appropriate and dress appropriate.

Overall, I believe that North Penn has a pretty fair dress code. I do think that there should be some leniency for what exactly students can get away with wearing, but at the same time you are still in North Penn. It is school so just keep that in mind as you get ready in the morning. Dress right and don’t walk out of the house in something that may be any bit questionable – just as long as you abide by the legendary North Penn dress code policy.