Our senior year has not been the traditional year that King City and Greenfield High School seniors, including myself, have hoped for. We all know this because it's a nationwide thing because of COVID-19, which we understand. Graduation is right around the corner and admin has informed us that we will not be allowed to decorate our caps and gowns for graduation. We've also been informed that if students show up with decorated caps and gowns, they will be taken away. Admin has claimed it is because it's KCHS tradition, for a respectful ceremony, and because of a concern of breaking dress code policy at a school function. We respect tradition and we respect their concern for dress code policy, but it's been said that "This is still a school function and subject to the dress code rules." This is true but admin did not give us a dress code policy regarding decorating our caps and gowns, it was instilled upon us that we do not decorate our caps and gowns.

Our classes and I believe this is unjust due to the fact that we hardly had a senior year. We are also concerned with the unfair opportunity to express ourselves freely and respectfully on one of the biggest milestones and most important days in our lives. Not just for us but our parents, that have given so much for this day. Some of us will become first generation high school graduates, some of us have struggled through high school, constantly fearing or worrying that we'd even graduate. It feels incomplete to not have the option to express ourselves in the way we want to remember the day.

We'd like our administration to meet with our classes and its representatives to consider letting us decorate our caps and gowns. Our solution is to apply the schoolwide dress code policy in order to prevent any inappropriate cap and gown decor.