Dress controversy: Girls turned away from homecoming dance

STANSBURY PARK, Tooele Local — Stansbury High school plans to hold a “replacement dance” and make changes to its dress code after at least two few more teens were avoided from attending a weekend homecoming dance for their attire. “As much as we want to have a certain level of appropriateness and reasonableness, there was never any purpose for people to leave heartbroken and disgruntled and confused and frustrated, ” Principal Kendall Topham said Mon. “So that apology needed to happen and it did happen. ” Several teens at Stansbury High school used their inexpensive homecoming dresses to class Mon in protest of a dress code that got them kicked out of Saturday's dance.

They also signed a request to achieve the dress code changed to be more specific with input from the student body. About two few more girls were turned away from the dance because some schools employees monitoring the dance deemed their dresses too short or otherwise inappropriate. But the White Tulle Homecoming Dress With Beadings code itself is a matter of model. “It was just ful shock at first, ” said Silpada Hesleph. “Here we are spending all this time and everything and then we make it happen and they just turn us away. It’s just kind of gloomy. ” Donna Hesleph, Amber’s mother, said the result of the dance for many students was "very sad. ” “If you’re going to randomly paint scarlet letters all over children, then something has to change, ” she said. Homecoming Queen Erica Alvey was one of those turned away.

“They laughed and said that it was showing my joints so it was too short, and in order to get into the dance I had to put on tights, ” she said. “So Used to do, and I got back in the dance, but that was before I realized that this thing would turn into such a big issue. ” Students and parents immediately took to the Internet voicing their outrage as to what happened. A Facebook page called Stansbury High Homecoming Spirit Massacre had more than 3, 100 "likes" Mon afternoon. Topham said information about clothing code was included on fliers prior to the dance and was posted on the school’s website. It said: "Reminder: The Formal Dance Dress Code is situated on page 30 of the student planner and there are paper prints up around school showing examples. Students are expected to look their full capacity and dress appropriately. "Dresses should be at or near knee length. Slits in the dresses should not be any higher than the the top of knee. Strapless dresses are forbidden unless a jacket or shawl is worn. 'Plunging' necklines are forbidden. The backs of dresses should not show more than 1/3 of the back (directly below the armpits).

 Midriffs should not show in any way. 'Sheer' fabric is acceptable, as long as skin is not showing underneath. inch That's what several parents say their children used, and added that the administration was not fair in deciding who got to stay for the dance and who was turned away. “One in our standards for formal wear is that skirts be at or near the knee, ” Topham said. “There’s some ambiguity as to what it means to be near the knee. ” He said teachers and an admin principal were enforcing clothing code Sunday. “There were some dresses that I’ve been informed that were clearly not in complying, ” Topham said. “But there were those that, depending on the model, would be allowed for some and not allowed for others. And so that part of it needs to be fixed and that needs to be addressed. There’s no question about it. inch The key met with the student local authority or council and held assemblies with the students Mon to treat what happened during the dance. Students were also asked to give their input on the dress code and completed a list of questions. The student local authority or council will appear those over and then meet with the administration to clarify clothing code. “I feel bad because we have a lot of good kids at the school, ” he said. “We just need to better clarify things. ” The school's website now shows a clarified version of the student dress code. Dresses are in possession of to reach or go below the joints, and not just near or just above the knee. Two researchers who have studied body image and objectification of women say the incident at Stansbury High school is a teaching moment for parents and girls. Lexie and She Kite have spent the past decade studying the issue and will end the school year with a doctorate thesis on the subject. They launched Beauty Redefined, a charity group that helps change the way people see beauty. The school is within its right to have a dress code, they said, but the enforcement of the code was skewed.

 “We had people maybe put in force their own ideas about what’s appropriate and that didn’t really fall consistent with what many of the girls and their parents thought about what was appropriate, ” She Kite said. “When you put in force these kinds of haphazard standards that aren’t necessarily forced in other facets of the school’s events or other life experience, that teaches them that they are bodies, that they are to be looked at, and that those bodies are shameful. ” "When these were at the door and turned away, it breaks my heart a little, ” Lexie Kite said. “It teaches girls that that extra inch here or there, in the event that's showing, then suddenly they are harmful to people and we must be self-conscious in our bodies because of it. inch Both say girls need to be taught that they are more than just bodies and they can be empowered to do great things. “We know that when girls respect their bodies they actually make better decisions for them, in terms of nutrition, health and fitness and also in terms of how they dress, ” Lexie Kite said.