Poca High School’s graduation is on June 1st, 2021. However, the dress code is a big issue for some of the students. On the dress code the girls are only to wear dresses and the men are to only wear dress pants. This is outdated anyways because women and men should be able to wear whatever they want, whether a woman wants to wear dress pants or a dress shouldn’t matter, and if a man wants to wear a skirt that shouldn’t be a problem. There’s an even bigger, darker, issue here. My classmate and friend does not identify as a woman. However, the school won’t allow him to walk across the stage if he doesn’t wear a dress. Instead of being able to celebrate our graduation and express ourselves, we would have to be sad because our classmates aren’t happy in their own skins. It states in the Putnam County discrimination policy that they do not discriminate regardless of skin color, creed, disability, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, gender, place of residence, or social/economic background. So why aren’t we respecting my peer’s gender identity?