The dress code at Bishop Gorman has always been a precarious point of conversation when being discussed between the student body and faculty members. Many feel that the dress code is fine as it is, while others feel that it needs to be less restrictive in order to allow students to express themselves more easily and freely.

Freshman Nicholas Mattson expressed his opinion on the matter, “I do think the faculty is too strict with dress code because a detention for a small dress code mistake seems unnecessarily harsh… I think that colors other than Gorman colors should be allowed.”

In agreement with Mattson, sophomore Taylor Reed said, “Yes, I absolutely think the faculty is too strict. I understand that they want us to obey the rules, however, certain rules go a little far. Forcing a male to shave in the nurse’s office is a little more than extreme in my opinion.”

Reed makes an interesting point, as another controversy pertaining to the school’s strict dress code is the no tolerance policy for facial hair. “I agree with the facial hair rule to a certain extent,” she admitted, “obviously I do not want my male friends walking around with a beard but that is mainly because it looks strange on an adolescent face. I do think that certain males are picked out of the crowd, not by chance, when it comes to these rules. I often see many guys with facial hair, meanwhile others are receiving detentions due to their hair that naturally grows. If it is going to continue to be a rule, I think that it should be enforced on everybody.”

Another specific aspect of the dress code that many students oppose is the school’s policies on piercings. “I feel as if the piercing rules should be changed: for example if women are allowed to wear hoops, so should men. The same goes for facial piercings, obviously they should be kept to a minimum, however I don’t see a small nose stud as a distraction or issue. Piercings are a form of self expression and with little ability to express yourself due to uniforms I think the piercing policy should be more lenient,” Reed stated.

Many students, while acknowledging the dress code’s faults, still recognize its purpose. “I think (the dress code) does serve a purpose and I can’t lie, there are times when I enjoy not having to dread repeating an outfit or figuring out what to wear in the morning. I think with the free dress days we receive, Fridays being included with spirit wear, our student body somewhat benefits,” Reed conveyed.

When tallying all of the responses, it is safe to assume that Bishop Gorman students understand the pros and cons that the dress code brings to the table but that certain policies warrant some changes.