For 34 years, The Warrior has promoted accountability in and around the Sherwood community–now The Warrior Online takes its turn. Introducing the Warrior Watchdog. In any organization, issues can slip through the cracks. The Watchdog steps in to keep decision makers on their toes, and ultimately advocate for the students and community of Sherwood High School. The Warrior will always be watching.

by Isabel Paterson ’12

Over a year ago the Rockville High School administration determined yoga pants to be inappropriate in a school environment. In December, this issue exploded to the surface again when the ban was to be officially enacted into a new policy in the dress code, and students from Rockville used social networks through texts, Facebook and Twitter to make a final attempt at protesting the policy. Students, seeing tweets and statuses about the ban, started to take interest and eventually rumors spread throughout MCPS that this ban would be implemented at high schools county-wide.

Students at Rockville also planned a protest by purposely wearing yoga pants in violation of the policy; however, many students brought a change of clothes so administration would not send them home. Athletic coaches also discovered this plot and advised their players or cheerleaders not to participate in the protest because being sent home would also jeopardize their participation in games later that day. As a result, many students backed away from the protest.

There is a fine line between what is and is not appropriate in public schools that do not have very strict dress codes. According to the Churchill school newspaper, The Observer, MCPS spokesperson Dana Tofig said in an interview, “There are certain expectations that are laid out in the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook. The specific dress policies can vary from school to school.” In other words, schools may change their dress codes as they see fit.

Rockville High School banned yoga pants due to the inappropriate and distracting nature of the garments. “We are a professional learning community and as such we want out students to dress appropriately for an academic setting. Certainly, most professionals would not wear leggings to their place of work or study,” said assistant principal Daniel Garcia in an interview with The Warrior.

Recently, a high school in Pennsylvania has banned Ugg boots after noticing that students were hiding cell phones in them. However, cell phones can also be concealed in almost any pocket.  

Schools have the discretion to ban clothing for almost any reason and use any punishment they see fit, including sending students home in the middle of a school day. Yoga pants have been deemed inappropriate and distracting enough for students to face being sent home and miss academic lessons. No word yet on push-up bras and tight-fitting jeans.