Tweet

For some Grand View students, deciding what pants, shirt and shoes went together perfectly was a breeze throughout high school due to their school’s uniform policy.

“I have to plan what I’m going to wear,” said Carlos Rodriguez, sophomore.

Rodriguez is a native of Puerto Rico, where he attended Juan Serralles High School. At his school, every student is required to wear a uniform. Rodriguez’s dress code simply consisted of a shirt and gym pants made of the schools colors, or a polo and khaki pants.

Lizeth Ornelas-Salazar, senior, said wearing a uniform made her school life easier. The simplicity allowed her to cut down her morning routine.

Despite a strict dress code during the year, multiple students remember specific days of the year where the students could wear street clothes.

For Rodriguez, it was in order for students to raise funds for graduation.

“We would bring two dollars on the days we got to wear street clothes,” Rodriguez said.

At Dowling Catholic High School, Ornelas-Salazar the same experience. Her school had a couple days where students could wear whatever they wanted.

Although the uniforms left students with a limited outlet for self- expression, Rodriguez said the rule also left no room for students to be bullied or judged for their attire.

“When everyone is wearing the same thing every day, no one cares about that [style],” Rodriguez said.

Where some students had a positive experience dealing with school regulations, there were others who didn’t enjoy the uniformity.

Destiny Collins, junior, attended Johnson College Prep in Chicago, IL and was less than impressed with his school’s guidelines.

Despite an unpleasant experience, Collins said his school’s strict uniform policy did benefit him in the long run financially.

“It helped me save up money for the clothes I wanted for college,” Collins said.

Going into college, many of the students realized as they define their style, it gives them a better understanding of who they are
as well.

“Now I know that how I dress shows a lot about who I am and what I can do,” Rodriguez said.