St. Mary’s Episcopal School, a private school for girls in Memphis, Tennessee has been known for years for allowing students to express themselves with their clothing, while still enforcing a very reasonable and needed dress code, has enacted a new uniform policy for the 2020-2021 school year. Students in grades 1-12 may only wear the new uniform skirt, shirt, or pants. In creating this new policy, St. Mary’s suppresses individuality expressed through clothing from a young age.

“The mission of St. Mary's Episcopal School is to provide a superior educational experience for girls which will encourage and enable each student to reach her individual potential.”

How can a St. Mary’s student reach her individual potential wearing clothing that does not reflect who she is? The students of St. Mary’s want to know the reason behind this policy. It is the personal opinion and belief of the students affected that this freedom allows them to be creative and confident while still following guidelines, and without this a student is limited in her abilities and self value greatly.

The Board of Trustees of St. Mary’s is not the voice of the students. Students are more than willing to comply to a stricter dress code in exchange for the reversal of the recent policy.