A problem that needs to be addressed is the dress code. The dress code has its flaws; some people will get in trouble for what they wear and others will not. If one person is going to get in trouble for what they wear, then the next person that wears something just like it needs to be in trouble too. Some of the things in the dress code are also somewhat unreasonable. The dress code needs to be equal for all. There are solutions to the problems that are within the dress code. Students and staff have to work together and cooperate with each other to come to better terms for the dress code.
The dress code at Chester High School primarily focuses on the female gender. The dress code ranges from shorts being too short, rips being too high on their jeans, to straps on tank tops not being thick enough. Although the dress code focuses mainly on females, it needs to be enforced on the males too. There are some males at this school that walk around with their shorts so short you can see their underwear hanging out of the bottom. Personal preference is a huge factor in this issue, not all the guys want to wear long shorts. The style for this generation as whole, both boys and girls, is wearing shorter shorts which is fine. One of the problems is that the boys will wear shorts that are shorter than the girls and not get in trouble for it which is annoying for the girls who get dress coded for every little thing. If a girl did that they would get dress coded but when the boys do it, no one says anything. The boys’ shorts should not be shorter than the girls’. Showing too much skin is considered “distracting.” Women are the ones dress coded the most about this. The men need to be dress coded on this as well, if they are going to wear equally short shorts. The teachers cannot just turn a blind eye to the boys that choose to wear excessively short shorts.
A lot of the rules at Chester High School are not very reasonable. A rule that needs to go is putting your hands down to your side and if your fingertips pass your shorts, then they are too short. If the shorts are showing things that should not be seen then it is understandable. A very popular brand of shorts among teenage girls is Nike. Specifically, the Nike Tempo 3” Running Shorts. These shorts give comfortability and coverage. The shorts are also the ones that get many girls at Chester High School dress coded. They are not very short shorts at all but because of the fingertip rule many girls get dress coded everyday for wearing them. Things that need to be taken into consideration are style for this generation and the fact that no high school girl wants to wear basketball shorts to school. Some people have longer arms than others so instead of doing fingertips they should do your whole hand or even half of your hand. If your hand passes your shorts then they are indeed too short. The same goes for rips in their jeans. Ripped jeans are a little more complicated because some jeans also have the rips on the back of the pants, by the pockets. If they have rips by the back pockets and you can see skin, they should not be wearing them. Other than that, the staff can still use the rule of no rips higher than where your hand is on your sides.
Although shorts and ripped jeans are a big issue, another big issue is shirts. Many females at Chester High School feel the need to wear cropped tops and open back shirts. This is against the dress code policy but many girls still wear them. Some of them will get in trouble while others will not get in trouble until the very end of the day or have nothing said to them at all.
Teachers like to ignore some students that are wearing things that should get them dress coded according to the Chester High School dress code policy. Other teachers will dress code anyone and everyone for anything that comes close to violating the dress code. All of the teachers need to be enforcing the dress code if they are going to have those rules in the first place. I understand that some rules even seem unreasonable to some of the teachers so they will not enforce them. Teachers should still be enforcing the dress code on everyone and not be biased to certain students.
There are many things that the students and staff can do to make the dress code better. Everyone has to work together to come up with better rules that will be able to be enforced and be equal to all. Problems can only be solved if there is willingness and cooperation on both ends. The dress code policy at Chester High School needs to be changed a little bit so it is more realistic and easier for students and teachers to follow. The student body will be able to have a better relationship with the faculty at school if they are not getting dress coded left and right.

Editor’s note: A problem-solving essay was one of the assignments for the Rhetoric& Composition class.