Up in arms: Lex Anteinternet: NCSD Board Policy 5375. Dress Code.

I posted on this (nearly non news) item earlier this week:

Lex Anteinternet: NCSD Board Policy 5375. Dress Code.: The current NCSD dress code. Usually with something like this, the poster, if he's been out of school over 20 years (and I have. ....

As noted, the dress code in the local school district, which is highly onerousness, has been in place for at least 30 years or so, and likely stretches back to the 1970s.

Well, as with honored traditions everywhere, the tradition of student protest lacking information is now in full swing. Students in the district are rising in opposition and signing petitions, and the like, to change the policy as if its new, which it isn't, and as if it's oppressive.  Shoot, its hardly a policy at all, so it would be hard for it to be oppressive. But if the policy was "brush your teeth before school", that would spark some anger as well, no doubt.

One of the comments in today's paper was interesting both because it hearkens back to the same discussion 30 years ago, and because it shows how amazingly naive students of this age really remain.  Some student claimed that to the small extent it requires female students to cover up, and it doesn't do that much, it will sponsor viewing women as objects for assault.  I have a post in the hopper that will deal with that, but sorry junior, that's not the case and the opposite is true.

The degree to which women "encourage" unwelcome attention including violent attention has been debated forever, and I actually recall a high school age girl, not here, being discussed widely while I was in high school as she was in the news after being attacked.  Her attacker maintained and the judge accepted that she was partially responsible due to her dress, and there's been a few instances of such decisions since then.

Now, let be clear, the judge was completely in error and the criminal should not have been allowed to get away with that excuse.  There's no excuse for such behavior at all.

But, it's also absurd to think that a certain type of dress isn't distracting in a negative way.  Dress like an object and you'll become one to some degree.  That's not good, but to a certain extent, that's actually nature.  They don't print magazines with those photos in them because it proofs against assault you know, and certain sisters famous for being famous don't dress that way in the hopes you won't look at them and their. . . well anyhow.

That's not all of the dress code, of course.  And this isn't much of a code at that. No beer shirts, no hats indoors, etc.  But it frankly isn't much of an issue either.  Most kids don't violate this most days, and haven't been, even without knowing about it.  And it gives us a chance to see a time honored tradition, youthful protest over nothing in particular, at work.