Michael Quinlan ’14: Due to ongoing Student Council discussions, next year may see changes to Episcopal’s dress code. Proposed modifications, which have been discussed by student council over the course of this past year, include the option of polo shirts for boys and more concrete specifications on the length of girls’ skirts.
For the past few years there has been a desire to clarify the rules of Episcopal’s dress code, according to Nick Mead ’13, vice president of the senior class. “The main problem with the dress code is that it’s not very clear,” he noted.
In addition to creating general confusion, the unclear policy also leads to more disciplinary issues.
“When [students are] shown that teachers … don’t really have a well-defined dress code [to enforce], of course they will take advantage,” commented Mead.
Over the course of Student Council’s conversations, the dress code of other Inter-Ac schools was cited as a precedent for Episcopal to follow. Schools such as Germantown Academy and Malvern Prep allow males to wear solid color polo shirts, which violate Episcopal’s current policy that allows boys to wear only white, blue, or a combination of white and blue oxford-style shirts. Similarly, Agnes Irwin’s code dictates that kilts must be “at least mid-thigh in length.” Episcopal’s rule states skirts must be “no shorter than 4 inches from the top of the knee.”
With new Head of School T.J. Locke and new Head of Upper School Delvin Dinkins assuming their respective positions next fall, the de facto deadline for student council to propose dress code changes is the start of next school.
Both Dinkins and Locke come to Episcopal from schools with more lenient dress codes. Dinkins’s Tredyffrin-Easttown School District does not enforce a school uniform while Locke’s Isidore Newman School affords upper school boys the option of wearing any collared shirt. At Newman, girls’ shirts must “have either a collar or sleeves.” Middle school dress code at Isidore Newman allows boys to wear “Bermuda-type shorts that come to the top of the knees.”
The likelihood of the aforementioned proposal is uncertain. “There is … some inter-Student Council conflict” regarding the choices of polo shirts, “which I don’t think will ever pass,” commented Mead. Dimantha Andrahennady ‘14 noted, “For the skirts, there was not too much dissent, as everyone seemed to agree that a change was needed. As for the golf shirts, there was some concern as to whether we would look properly dressed.”
Others have been more optimistic. Student Council member Jack Alden ’14 has heard support from many members of the school community. Similarly, Student Council member Andrahennady ’14 believes “allowing polo shirts during the fall and spring seasons would probably make things a bit easier.”