Howell is known for its great sports and education system. But what it isn’t known for is fairness with a dress code. With a six rule difference in dressing regulations, 76 out of 100 girls and boys said that the dress code at Howell is sexist during a survey in 4A lunch Feb. 27.

During the same survey, 59 out of 100 girls reported to have been told to change their shirts because it’s “too tight in the bust”. 35 out of the same 100 were told to put on a jacket because their bra strap was showing. The girls commented that when another girl walked by with the same shirt on or half of her chest hanging out, she wasn’t called out for it because it’s wasn’t as revealing on her. Because of another girl’s body shape though, which she has no control over, she had been told to change. This not only damages the girl’s self confidence, but it also teaches a woman that her certain body shape isn’t acceptable to society.

The school doesn’t only have uneven rules, but the way they are handled needs to be changed as well. Part of the Seven B’s states that boxers should not be shown by boys. However in a second survey during the same lunch, 43 out of 100  girls said that they see boys sag their pants seventeen times a day but are ignored. Yet girls are being told to change because their shorts extend to their upper thigh are too short.

The dress code doesn’t only affect girls in a negative way. It also affects the boys. 46% of the boys surveyed indicated the dress code wasn’t only sexist to girls, but to boys as well. By setting all of these rules, the school is telling boys that they are unable to control themselves. 48 out of 100 teen boys said in the second survey that they feel the dress code insults their ability to control themselves.

The rules tell boys that they can’t control their “urges,” so now the school has to fix it by setting these rules for woman. To make sure no boy is “distracted” or “tempted” during school hours, woman must hide themselves. This is not acceptable.

The way to fix this problem is not to get more strict with the rules, but to loosen up on them and to follow through with the rules they have. The principals need to make sure that they are equal in punishment when it comes to telling boys or girls to change or fix their clothing. 71 out of 100 students in the same survey said that the top two issues teens at Howell have with the dress code is the unfairness and the sexism.

The administration also needs to make sure that the rules are fair and even. 36% of boys from the two surveys said that bra straps are not “appealing,” so teen girls shouldn’t be punished if their strap shows or falls off their shoulder because boys don’t even care. The same can be said for boxers, so long as they aren’t sagging their pants.

The school needs to loosen up on the dress code because it’s sexist towards both genders, the rules are unfair, and statistics show that the students aren’t happy with the current conditions.