At the start of the school year, brand new dress code enforcements were brought to the high school along with a brand new principal.
Putting two and two together, students immediately assumed the enforcements were due to the replacements in staff, but they assumed wrong according to Principal Jamie Voorhies.
“It changed because people wanted it changed,” Voorhies said. “That wasn’t [me] coming in and saying, Okay, we’re going to fix this’.”
While many students feel as though the dress code was brought on suddenly, it has been written in the Code of Conduct for years, yet was not consistently enforced prior to the 2024-2025 school year.
“I feel like it was one of those primary focuses,” junior Ethan Collins said. “In the past years it hasn’t been one of those things. Now it’s a have to, where before it was a want to.”
Due to the sudden change, students speculate the changes are being taken seriously, perhaps too seriously by Voorhies.
“I think it was the new principal,” sophomore Adelayna Mensch said. “She’s just enforcing it a little too much.”
Even though students may blame the new enforcements on Voorhies, they were actually brought upon by teachers, parents, and administration concerned with the prior standards.
“When I came in, I asked lots of questions, [talked to] different people and dress code came into question,” Voorhies said.
While she was not necessarily the person who brought up the dress code, Voorhies does support what it does for not only preparing students for success in future jobs but also in school safety.
“There’s [a] code of conduct for every [job],” Voorhies said. “If you go into Chick-fil-a not in your uniform are they going to let you work for the day? Nope.”
While many students find not being able to wear hats and hoods at Starr’s Mill ridiculous, Voorhies is concerned with student safety.
“I can’t identify people on cameras if I don’t see your head,” Voorhies said.
As for enforcements surrounding modesty standards, students are asked to put a t-shirt given to them over their clothes or have their parents bring a change of clothes. Oftentimes, they are asked not to wear the pieces to school again rather than change them. Still, students question the validity of these claims.
“They said that my top was too long when it wasn’t and they dress-coded me for my shoulder being out,” Mensch said. “They were like ‘Go to the front office’.”
One of the largest critiques surrounding dress code all around the nation is it possibly being targeted as well as enforced much more involving girls, but at Starr’s Mill, that is simply not the case.
“I don’t think I spoke to one girl this morning [about dress code], and I talked to three boys,” Voorhies said. “Because it’s hats [and] hoods.”
While students have been misinformed, it is not to say that their opinions are not valid or even cause for revaluation. What is outlined in the Student Code of Conduct is not a reflection of Voorhies or even her doing.
The dress code enforcements, which have caused a major rift among students, are not the direct result of any staff changes. Some are a reaction to school safety concerns, and others create a more professional environment, preparing students for success in their future professions.