San Benito High School received national attention recently after male students wore off-the-shoulder tops in protest of the school’s dress code for girls.
Some students who had their pictures taken during the first two days of school said they were surprised when female students were cited for dress code violations. According to the Student Handbook and the Annual Notice To Parents (ANTP), “strapless or tube tops” have not been allowed for years, but some students found it unfair as they say the rule had not previously been enforced as stringently as it has been this year.
Approximately 50 female students were cited and sent to the office for wearing the shirts, according to Yahoo Style.
The story was featured on Sunday, Aug. 20 in the Daily Mail’s Discover page on the social media sharing app Snapchat, which has approximately 166 million daily active users. It was also in the Huffington Post.
Principal Adrian Ramirez sent out a letter to the community in both English and Spanish addressing concerns by some that the the strapless shirt ban is because it causes a distraction to male students. He said, “San Benito High School does not support, nor believes this is an appropriate reason to not allow strapless shirts. It is each student’s responsibility to carry themselves in a respectful manner, regardless of the clothing that another student is wearing.”
Ramirez added that the first goal of the school is to prevent students from being in a situation where they are unintentionally humiliated and secondly, the school wants to set expectations within the dress code that prepare students for life outside of high school. He mentioned at this week’s Board of Trustees meeting that the school will provide staff “with education and updates on dress code, recent trends and how to effectively approach a student regarding dress code violation.”
The principal also told trustees in a presentation that the school must “be mindful of having an equitable approach with both males and females” and noted that there are plans to organize an “advisory” of students to maintain an “open dialogue” with them regarding the dress code.
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