Coral Reef Senior High has recently tightened its enforcement of the dress code policy—something they’ve been slowly prying at for about three years now. It has been a shifting back-and-forth between the student population and the staff, ultimately peaking with the Mid-Year Orientation that took place on February 11, 2025. The main issue, though, is that the policies being so adamantly enforced for “our safety” lack any efficacy or integrity and only worsen our already damaged school climate.

The changes we want to see made within the dress code policy are as follows: Laxer approaches to dress code violations regarding outerwear, accessories (e.g., hats), and, crucially, weather exemptions to the dress code.

• Non-Reef-branded outerwear that does not cover the polo and/or school badge should not be punishable.

• Reef-branded outerwear without the presence of a polo should be acceptable, given that it is not taken off or noticeable.

• In cases of extreme weather, such as cold fronts, there should be dress code exemptions. What happened a few months prior was a pathetic display on behalf of our administration—prioritizing dress code policies over the warmth of students, given that we were not allowed indoors during lunch and the cafeteria was jam-packed, is inexcusable under any circumstance.

Although allegedly for our safety, these dress code policies add absolutely nothing to the security of our school. It is just as easy for a perpetrator to get their hands on a Reef polo as it is a Reef hoodie, and punishing someone who has a school ID proving they are a student for it is ridiculous. If someone is wearing a Reef hoodie, not having a polo underneath doesn’t make them a threat to the school. If someone is wearing a non-Reef-branded sweater that clearly displays their ID and badged polo, they are obviously a student. The application of these rules has been nothing short of a power trip by the administration, only paired with the nasty and unbecoming attitude they present toward the students.