Countless female students of Bland County High School have been taken out of class, forced to change, and even sent home for their clothing. The BCHS dress code states that clothing should "conform to standards of safety, good taste and decency." On the page of the Student Handbook that describes the dress code, it prohibits items of clothing that show midriffs, shoulders, and cleavage, stating that clothes that reveal these body parts are "sexually explicit," meanwhile, the body parts in question are not sexual organs. The School Board and staff are needlessly sexualizing the students of BCHS, the majority of which breaking dress code being female minors. Our school is prioritizing the way its female dress over their education, proving the school system to be sexist and pedophiliac. 

In order to improve our school system and the overall experience or the female students of BCHS, dresscoded policies must be revised to be less sexist and more appropriate, while also taking into consideration that the midriff, shoulders, and cleavage are normal body parts that have no need to be sexualized. Female students, along with any other students who wish to dress in this manner, deserve to be allowed to walk the halls of BCHS without being discriminated for their clothing. Any clothing that does not have direct sexual implications should be allowed to be worn. In the end, I education holds a higher value than our clothing ever will.