The current hat policy restricts all students from wearing hats inside the building. The handbook specifically says “outdoor clothing such as headgear, sunglasses, gloves, etc are to be removed upon entering the building and stored in the locker or other designated area.” However, many students still wear hats inside dismissing the rules set into place in the handbook.
The handbook says if a student violates the dress code then they could receive a level one referral which could lead to a thirty minute detention.
“Hats are not a distraction to learning,” junior Makenna Christensen said. “I know of like two teachers out of the whole staff who would say something to a student wearing a hat.”
This is true, many teachers already dismiss the policy and allow their students to wear hats in their classroom. However, not all teachers do. In order to compromise with the current policy and those who are more lenient, it should be shifted so that students can wear hats in the hallways and cafeteria without fear of repercussions. This would leave each teacher to determine if it is appropriate in their own classrooms. This method currently works efficiently for cell phones and backpacks.
“Students are going to wear them anyways regardless of the policy,” senior Savannah McDonald said.
All students should be allowed to wear hats that are traditional and non-distracting. A baseball cap or a beanie is no more distracting than say a sweater. There is a tremendous difference between a baseball cap or beanie and a hat with a propeller on the top of it. A propeller hat would obviously cause a lot of attention to it, and that’s not what students are intending to do with a shift in policy.
Many students wear hats when they have a bad hair day or just got a bad haircut.
“Students should be allowed to wear hats because I don’t always brush my hair,” senior Faith Keffer said jokingly.
If the policy was shifted, students would be able to cover up those bad hair days and express themselves in the matter of their choosing. As long as the hats coordinate with other handbook rules, such as no vulgar or inappropriate content, then there should be no issue wearing them in public
“I think at certain times it is disrespectful to wear it,” junior Makenna Hutchinson said. “I was taught to take it off while eating and during the national anthem, but I think we should be able to wear them when it is appropriate.”