The continued enforcement of the dress code here at Hackley has been too strict and unfair. Specifically with the ban of sweatpants at school. Sweatpants are an item that I wear almost everyday after practice, because not only are they comfortable, but they are also semi formal, with people having been asking me in the past if I was wearing sweatpants or nicer pants, showing they are not all bad. 

I do understand the other side of the argument, that sweatpants are “not formal enough, and don’t allow for an ideal learning environment” although I do not agree. When I am sitting in english class for example, on a dress down day where it is allowed for us to have sweatpants on, it does not make it more difficult for me to focus at all, and at some points makes it easier. This is because I feel more comfortable, taking my mind off of what I am wearing completely, and lets me stay warmer during the cold winter months, which makes the rest of my day much more enjoyable. When I have sweatpants on, I do not have to worry about being cold, and I am more focused in class due to the fact that I am not worrying about this, and not focusing on trying to become warmer, and I can really lock in and focus on what the rest of the class and my teachers are doing and saying, making myself get better grades, and learn more. 

The solution to this problem? Allow sweatpants in school by loosening the dress code for the students. Or at least give us one or two days per week, depending on the amount of days in that week, to have a dress down day. This would allow me and many others to pay better attention in class, and get better grades in school, for the smallest price of just allowing people to wear the clothes that they want to wear, at a school that takes so much energy and thinking already.