Adelphi University Quill Awards 2022 — 1st Place for Best News Article
By KATIE TIAN and QI WANG
On the first day of the 2021-2022 school year, an unexpected announcement at Jericho High School incited a strong reaction among many students. Following the standard morning announcement of August 26, co-principal Dr. Prisinzano spoke to remind students to adhere to the school’s dress code policies. A similar announcement was made again toward the end of that school day.
A previously updated post to the school website on August 24 specified that students were required to wear clothing that “does not interfere with the educational environment,” including clothing that “covers the midriff, chest, back, and mid-thigh.”
Corinne D. recalled how the announcements led to shifting dynamics within the student body. “It’s a terrifying thing honestly. Everyone was really afraid,” she said. “My friends were being pointed out by boys and being laughed at, saying, ‘She’s going to be dress coded.’”
On the evening of August 26, Student Council co-president Corinne D. launched a petition titled “Stop Jericho’s New Dress Code” on change.org to call for a revision of the current policy. She said, “Everyone was really happy that the petition was made. People were coming up to me in the hall and giving me hugs and saying thank you to me, just for doing something that was so easy.”
Within 24 hours of its creation, the petition had surpassed its initial goal of 500 signatures.
Senior Sachi S. felt the delivery of the announcements shined an unwanted spotlight on the high school’s female population. She said, “The fact that it was a male administrator giving the announcement, that wasn’t okay. If you’re going to talk about a girl’s body, a girl should be doing it.”
Mr. Cohen acknowledged the potential flaws of the dress code. He said, “As I’ve had a chance to read through our very old standing policy, I can certainly understand there’s the need for review and potential for revision. And one of the reasons why is that it certainly could come across, because of its antiquated nature, as not being as gender neutral as it could be.”
Each of the High School Administrators emphasized in interviews that the dress code was not a new development and had been posted on the school website for many years. However, given that it had not been publicly announced or enforced for many years prior, many students were taken by surprise.
JerEcho survey results showed that within the student body, 46.4% of female respondents felt that they had been impacted by the recent reminder of the dress code, while only 13.6% of males felt the same way. A majority of students reported no knowledge of the existence of a dress code policy.
A recently conducted JerEcho survey revealed that 58.9% of Jericho High School respondents were unaware of the existence of a dress code before the start of this school year.
Dr. Prisinzano believes there is a need for a schoolwide dress code. “As a school, we try to teach you not only your subjects but also appropriate behavior in life,” he said.
He explained that deliberations on this subject had begun at the end of the previous year after certain faculty members raised concerns over students’ choices of attire. A formal discussion consisting of teachers and administrators was initiated at that time but was put on hold. Dr. Prisinzano said, “We said, look, it’s been an interesting year. It’s been a challenging year for everyone. Let’s get to the end of the school year, and then this is something we can address coming back. And that’s what we did.”
Jericho’s other co-principal, Mr. Cohen, revealed that the August 26th announcements had not been the result of a unanimous administrative decision. He said, “There was no consistent communication amongst the entire High School Administration about the need to make any announcements. Dr. Prisinzano obviously felt there was a need to make the announcement.”
Mr. Cohen said, “Certainly from my vantage point, I was not expecting to deal with the dress code any differently than we’ve ever dealt with the dress code.”
On September 3, the Jericho co-principals released this school year’s first issue of The Jayhawk Blast, their school newsletter. In one section, they clarified that the dress code’s policies and methods of enforcement had not changed from previous years. Additionally, they reported that after receiving feedback from student leaders, the Administration would turn the issue over to the high school’s Shared Decision Making Committee—a team of students, parents, faculty members, and administrators—for further review and revision.
According to Jericho Assistant Principal Dr. Behr, the Shared Decision Making Committee’s stakeholders can choose to make a recommendation for revising or rewriting the current dress guidelines, which would then be brought up to Central Office for a final evaluation by the Jericho Superintendent as well as the school district’s attorney.
On October 15, Jericho’s Shared Decision Making Committee held its first meeting of the year. According to Student Council co-president Corinne D., who is also a Shared Decision Making member, the group discussed possible changes to the dress code and examined policies from other schools. No recommendation has been made by the committee at this time.
English teacher Ms. Palumbo believes that students have an obligation to maintain a certain level of appropriateness in an educational environment. She said, “I think students should consider how they’re dressing in terms of the message they’re sending about themselves.”
Ms. Palumbo recognizes the importance of maintaining balance in the classroom. She said, “In the end, the balance between self-expression and social order is always going to be a tension.”
English teacher Ms. D’Antonio thinks that for the most part students’ self-expression should not be limited by school policy. She said, “I believe that students should be able to wear whatever they want, however they want to express themselves, as long as it’s not violent or promoting hatred. Because really what our job is as educators is to nurture and support the full student. And your clothing is a part of your identity.”
Though the process to evaluate this long-standing school policy will take time and effort, Dr. Behr is confident that the school administration will take all viewpoints into account and will make a decision in the best interests of the Jericho community. She said, “I shared with students that what they have to say is very important and that we definitely want to hear what they’re saying. They can speak with Shared Decision Making to make sure that their voices are heard.”