by Brook Haislip –

Typically, high school students are stressed about doing well in classes, keeping up with rigorous extracurricular schedules, and maintaining a high GPA.  But the dress code is also a huge factor that may leave students stressed out throughout the day wondering if their outfits are going to “make the cut.”  Some of the students feel that the harsh dress code is too strictly enforced and has nothing to do with the academics at the school.  “I don’t see why we should have such a strict dress code considering it’s not changing the way that teachers teach or the way we learn things,” said sophomore Bridget Bossong.

This year, the Effective Schools Committee came up with the idea of having “fashion police” patrol the hallways in the mornings looking for students who are dressed inappropriately. The committee consists of teachers who work to improve the school academically, socially, and structurally. “I am the leader of the Effective Schools Committee so I have implemented the fashion police based on teachers thinking that we need to have a better way to enforce the dress code,” said staff member Angie Blevins. “The Effective Schools Committee works behind the scenes to make your school a better place, she added.” One of the main infractions that staff are on the lookout for are dresses or skirts shorter than two inches above the knee cap. Jeans that have holes above the knee cap are strictly inappropriate at FCHS.   “I think dress code is able to express the class Fluvanna has, but needs to be more logical; an example being that yoga pants are in code when track pants aren’t,” said senior Nicki Douma.

Tank tops, spaghetti straps and any strap that is not two and a half inches wide is considered breaking the dress code.  While many of the rules do not apply to boys at FCHS, the tank top rule may cause some issues. “The dress code doesn’t affect me at all. I personally think its fine the way it is,” said senior Matt Fragola. A new trend for students at FCHS is “Tank Top Tuesday”. A lot of boys now find themselves getting called out for their tank tops not being the appropriate width (2.5 inches). So boys also have to follow the dress code.

The consequences for not following the dress code may seem punitive. On the first offense, students receive a warning and are asked to change into a different set of clothes. If the students fail to change their clothes they will spend the remainder of the day in ISS. On the second offense, students will be assigned an entire day of ISS. “I feel that the consequences for breaking the dress code are too harsh. Students need to be in class learning, not sitting in ISS,” said junior Christian Baber.

Dress code is a tender subject when you step into the building of Fluvanna County High School.  So students, think carefully before you choose your outfit: Do you want to be sitting in ISS all day?