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too much of
a distraction
The Whiteville City Schools proposed dress code is a worthy effort that stops just short of uniforms but should end inappropriate dress if it can be enforced.
The current dress code is a generic one but the proposal is much more specific. Some points directly seek to combat gang-related clothing, such as bandannas.
Other elements of the proposal address shorts and skirts that are too short, exposed midriffs, inappropriate piercings, hats, sunglasses and even pajamas.
Parents should study the plan and attend a school board meeting July 10, when the board will receive comments.
Enforcement will be a key if the plan is to work. The biggest challenge will be at Central and the high school, where raging hormones and students’ desires to draw attention to themselves will no doubt lead to some confrontations.
The school board, however, has the authority and duty to make sure that the learning environment is the best it can be.
Many parents and students won’t like the changes, but for the public schools to function properly, there must be discipline.
One merely had to walk down the hallways at school this past year to understand what a distraction – and in some cases, threats – clothes can be.