{UAH} Are Leggings Too Distracting for Middle School?
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Are Leggings Too Distracting for Middle School?
By Cosmopolitan.com | Fashion – Tue, Apr 1, 2014 10:44 AM EDT
Are leggings too distracting for middle school?By Lauren Rankin
Haven Middle School in Evanston, Ill., is experiencing a burgeoning student protest and an onslaught of media attention in response to reports that it has banned leggings or yoga pants for female students. The new rule about leggings has actually been in place since the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, but only recently has it been garnering so much criticism and attention.
"Rumors that the school banned leggings and skinny jeans are not the truth," Melissa Burda, spokesperson for Haven's School District 65, told Cosmopolitan. "Students at the school are allowed to wear leggings, yoga pants, and skinny jeans. However, if leggings are worn, we ask that the shirt, short skirt, or whatever they have on top must be fingertip length."
But some Haven students and parents feel that this policy unfairly targets female students and holds them accountable for the behavior of their male classmates.
"I see dress codes as a messy attempt at controlling kids' (mostly girls) bodies rather than educating them on issues around sexuality and sexualization," Juliet Bond, whose daughter is in the seventh grade at Haven, said in an email. "And this is important because the minute we begin to tell girls that they have to cover their bodies up, or that their bodies are 'distracting,' we send a dangerous message to boys and girls."
What's more, the enforcement of the rule has itself been inconsistent, according to some Haven students and parents. On March 25, Haven held a meeting with school administrators, staff, teachers, and parents, in order to address the controversy. Students were not permitted to attend but were allowed to provide written statements regarding the policy. Burda noted that many parent in attendance were concerned not so much with the dress code itself, but the lack of consistency in how this particular rule was enforced.
In an interview with the Evanston Record, seventh-grader Lucy Shapiro shared her firsthand experience of being chastised for her dress code but not her friend, who was wearing a similar pair of athletic shorts. "I asked, 'Why just me?' and she said it was because I had a different body type than my friend."
School and district administrators maintain that the policy was never meant to police girls or make them feel self-conscious about their bodies. "The school administration and the district are very sensitive to the concerns raised about body image and how girls and boys are viewed and the fact that it's a distraction," Burda said.
Haven is just the latest school to deal with a leggings-related controversy. In February, a Massachusetts high school High school outlaws yoga pants and leggings [UPDATED]
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