Emma Issagholian, Demetrius Deshields, Mouli Kukrega

When Benjamin N. Cardozo High School opened its doors in 1967, the way the students dressed was one of the smaller concerns of the school and its faculty. However, as a new generation of students rises throughout the building, the school’s dress code has become one of the biggest concerns for faculty. Between the students and the staff, many opinions have been expressed as the rules of the dress code have been heavily enforced over the last several years.

With Cardozo’s student body changing overtime, rules and regulations have also changed. Due to the ever-increasing need to provide for the students, especially with the new Annex building opening, the staff has become increasingly strict on the safety of the students. Nowadays, the dress code has been pushed more as part of the staff’s safety initiative above all else. Large dress code posters can now be seen throughout the Annex and Cardozo’s main school building.

According to the rules implemented on these big signs, clothing students are not allowed to wear include, but are not limited to:

• No hats, hoods, sunglasses, or headwear-including but not limited to caps, beanies, and durags (unless for religious purposes).
• No clothing that does not provide coverage of the torso, undergarments, and private parts, including see-through garments.
• No clothing that contains references to drugs, alcohol, sex, violence, racism, or gang affiliation.
• Only surgical or KN95/N95 masks are permitted.

These dress code regulations and rules have been around in the New York City Department of Education for several years, but have been pushed through Cardozo through the Climate and Control office. Believe it or not, there are consequences to violating the dress code. The consequences consist of being given a Cardozo uniform to wear for that day, depending on the outfit violation, and if this continues, students will have to face disciplinary action. 

As the new protocols are being enforced more often throughout the school, members of staff have explained their reasoning for standing behind this improved dress code. “Dress codes should be in the school for self-respect. Crop tops and bellies being shown show no self-respect,” stated Dean and English Teacher, Ms. Eligon-Jones. “School is your job, if your job’s dress code is to wear a suit and tie, you must wear a suit and tie,” she continued. Ms Eligon-Jones’ views establish that the students have to respect each other and that in the school, teachers want the students to focus on their work rather than fashion, as they are here to obtain an education.

Similarly, Mr. Goldberger, another Cardozo dean, stated that the dress code focuses on the professional aspect of how students represent themselves. “My thoughts on the dress code are that it is sometimes appropriate…young ladies and men revealing too much of their bodies and some vulgar stuff on their shirts…I think that’s [dress code] appropriate to do inside a school building where there needs to be a certain level of sanity. Somewhat professional you have to be,” he stated.

Not only did the deans and faculty have strong opinions on the dress code at Cardozo, but many students passionately expressed their powerful views on the policy as well. One student sitting in the cafeteria with his friends stated that he did not “have anything against the dress code,” but shared that a lot of their friends stated that they are being way too strict this school year.

Another Cardozo High student expressed that they feel as though the dress code can be unfair in terms of gender. “I feel like it targets all girls and I don’t think any man is going to look at a stomach and be in love with a stomach, to me,” she stated. “I feel like there are places and times where everything, obviously you can’t show your undergarments and things like that,” she continued. Others echoed this sentiment, stating that they felt as though girls who have curvier bodies were being called out more for violating dress code.

One of the sentiments from staff and faculty, in addition to respect and appropriateness in school, was safety. However, students expressed that dress code and safety are separate issues. “If they are so worried about how unsafe we are in this school, then do something about the safety, not about what the girls are wearing,” stated one student.

And, while some students agree with the dress code rules and others disagree, there were several students who felt their voices were not being heard. Cardozo High School Principal Colby received word of students’ discontent and on September 15th, made a school-wide announcement. In her announcement, Principal Colby stated that she would have an “open door policy” where she would meet with students to converse and discuss any issues they have with the dress code policy. She echoed the sentiment that students can also speak to anyone in the Cardozo Administration team, as well.

Despite the differing opinions between staff and students, the one thing that can be agreed upon is the fact that the dress code has been more heavily implemented in recent days and will not be changed any time soon. Benjamin N. Cardozo has grown significantly from the 1967 version of the school, but it will hopefully go on to protect the students and ensure the continuous growth of student expression and staff regulation.