SAN DIEGO — Students are speaking out following a dress code decision by Cathedral Catholic High School in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego. Some have expressed support for the change which will ban female students from wearing skirts as part of their uniform next school year. Others are outraged and call the decision “sexist.” The school’s principal says the decision was “necessary.”
“I was very upset,” said CCHS freshman Carolina Ternero. “I like wearing skirts a lot more than pants or Bermuda shorts.”
The principal sent out an email last week banning skirts citing problems enforcing the length. It prompted a Chang.org petition urging a reversal. As of Monday evening it had over 2,600 signatures.
“I think there’s a strong reaction,” said Ternero. “I think we’re coming together as a community and I think if we all come together there can be change.”
But not everyone wants change. Freshman Caitlin Horvath says some students are clearly bending the current rules.
“I’ve seen so many short skirts and I remember the first day of school when my mom and I walked into the school we were just shocked. Some of the skirt lengths that were really short,” said Horvath. “I think something needed to be done.”
The high school’s principal Kevin Calkin released a statement to News 8 that read:
“A dress code is a perennial challenge. It exists for three good reasons: to foster unity, to encourage modesty, and to minimize pressure to conform to particular styles or clothing brands. It applies equally to the young women and young men at our school.
Its purpose is to foster a faith-based environment where students are focused on learning and not on outward appearances.
One of the biggest challenges has been skirt length, and the distraction caused by teachers, administrators and students constantly dealing with it. Starting with the next school year, we have decided to just eliminate the problem and make the standards for male and female students the same. No more skirts means no more conflict over skirt length. Period.
It’s a practical solution to a problem that gets more attention than it’s worth, causes more upset feelings than it’s worth and takes away from why we have a dress code to begin with, which is to have students and faculty pay less attention to fashion and a lot more attention to issues involving faith, character and learning."
Calkin did not address a controversial portion of his email to students which read “male faculty feel uncomfortable addressing female students about the length of their skirts, and even female faculty have expressed frustration with the ongoing challenge of dress code. There are challenges with boys too, but nothing that will require a change in options.”
These students say they haven’t heard of any uncomfortable situations except for those who now must buy a new outfit.
“I’ve heard lots of girls already purchased skirts for next year and that they’re quite expensive,” said Horvath. “That is one downside we’re going to have to buy a whole new uniform.”
A protest against the skirt ban is planned for Tuesday morning.
