Rebelling the rules has been accepted for way too long and the Hutchison faculty is finally cracking down on the dress code. Recently, students panicked after Upper School Assistant Head, Katy Nair, not only reminded students in convocation of the dress code rules, but also sent numerous emails threatening early schools to those who don’t follow the handbook. The series of events started the second day of school, August 18th, when Nair sent out an email with a picture attached of her demonstrating the correct uniform dress code. The photo included a polo under an approved Hutchison sweatshirt, closed toed shoes, and skirts no shorter than one inch below the fingertips. The sudden email caught students off guard as the dress code has been more relaxed in recent years, but starting this school year it seems faculty and staff are trying for effective action to lengthen the skirts of the students. Clickbait became Nair’s newest tactic three weeks into the school year when an email entitled, “Pizza!” was sent to the whole upper school, but all that was included was the same photo attached reminding everyone to wear their skirts at an appropriate length. Freshman, Anna Pollen, says, “Mrs. Nair is being very silly with how she’s enforcing the dress code.” When asked about how Upper School rules compare to Middle School rules, Pollen says, “Middle school teachers acted like they were going to enforce [the dress code] more in upper school. I feel like it is still enforced, but it is a lot easier to get away with breaking the dress code in upper school.” Keeping track of more than 300 students can be a difficult job for Hutchison faculty and staff, but this will not stop them from making sure everyone is following the rules.

Conflict over clothes continued the morning of September 1st when students were put to the test and checked in their advisories to make sure their skirts were long enough. Rumor has it, some advisors even pulled out a measuring tape to make sure girls were following the rules exactly.

Sophomore advisor, Molly Prewitt, says, “It’s not fun to get anyone in trouble. I mean as a teacher that’s my literal least favorite part of the job, but it’s a necessary evil.” With the threat of early school in the back of their minds, students embraced their new found modesty and strutted the halls of Labry with skirts at the correct length. Some students, however, don’t think that checking skirt lengths matters in an educational system and that faculty and staff should only worry about making sure we have a quality education. Miles Miller, Sophomore, says, “I think we should be able to wear our skirts how we want as long as others cant see our shorts.” This brings up an interesting debate as to whether skirt length is a distraction at an all girls school. In a recent announcement Nair states, “It’s about walking around and looking appropriate.” Nair has made it very clear that she doesn’t like giving early schools, but sometimes they are necessary as it is part of her job.

Progress was proven later the day of the skirt check as girls were praised with an email by Nair entitled, “What a proud day!”. Nair made it clear that she is proud of the current skirt lengths, but expects them to stay that way. However, some students still think the rule is unfair. When asked about how she feels about the dress code getting stricter her final year at Labry, Isabelle Mansour says, “They could’ve waited one more year, but it makes since because Hutchison girls don’t have the best stereotype or reputation outside of campus, so fixing the skirt lengths might help with that”. The debate continues as some students claim that they have longer arms. Junior, Olivia Lester, says, “I think it’s unfair ‘cause my skirt can be an appropriate length but still not be one inch longer than my fingertips.” Olivia claims she has longer arms than most, so receiving an early school for having an appropriate skirt length but above her fingertips doesn’t seem fair. However, this is just the beginning and students should expect random skirt length checks throughout the year as faculty and staff have been on the lookout to bust those who don’t follow the dress code.