Just a few years ago, a friend's son was sent home from school because the school administrators didn't allow students to have purple hair with blond tips.
Fifty years ago, high school principals probably would never have dreamed of such a problem. Their biggest issues were dresses too short (on girls) and hair too long (on boys). This is when hair touching the ears was considered too long.
The high school page touched on the dress code issue on Friday, May 3, 1968:
Certain Rules Observed
Students Feel Schools Liberal About Dress
Boys' Hair Length Can Cause Trouble
Pete's hair is too long or Mary's dress is too short. The high school dean calls home and tells their mothers that the children are being suspended from school until things change.
Things have changed recently, however, and this type of call has become perhaps less frequent as the interpretation of regulations concerning a student's appearance has become more liberal.
This week the Star sampled a variety of student dress and then questions the respective wearers about dress codes.
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Diane Fisher, Rincon High School sophomore: The administration puts on a "lot of pressure," she says, to make sure certain dresses are long enough β "what they think is a good length." Pant-dresses, culottes are not allowed, according to Diane. She herself has been sent home for what Rincon authorities considered improper dress.
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John Atchley, Pueblo High School junior: One of the things John likes about Pueblo is that the school is "pretty liberal" about dress regulations. His tee-shirt, white Levis and sandals-sans-socks were termed neat by a Pueblo administrator. Long hair for boys hasn't been much of a problem β it comes off once a job is found.
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Irene Irving, Amphitheater High School junior: There isn't much pressure to regulate dress at Amphi β "not at this school," she says. "They don't let you wear shorts but you can wear shorts under dresses," she says.
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Philip Vega, Tucson High School sophomore: Satin-finish Beatle boots, a black turtle neck and long, neatly combed hair were Philip's attire for the day. Administrators begin to be concerned when a boy's hair droops into his eyes and over his ears, he says. The student will receive a one-day warning β if it is not cut the next day, he goes home until it has been cut to size.
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Pat Horne, Catalina High School junior: Pat, looking fresh in her white, unadorned A-line dress, feels Catalina is not "too unreasonable" this year. The dress code has been changed since last year, and you can wear "pretty much what you want to."
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Rosemary Gill, Flowing Wells High School junior: If they don't like what you're wearing "it's quite harsh at Flowing Wells," according to Rosemary. If your dress "is the slightest bit too short" they send you home to change, she says. Rosemary, who has been called down "quite a few times" for dresses the school has not liked, feels some girls don't care. They wear what they want to anyway.
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Rex Van Valkenburg, Sunnyside High School senior: "The only thing Sunnyside really stresses is tucking your shirt in," he says. Rex's overshirt and his moderately long hair don't worry the officials, he says. (It used to be longer, but his father ended that.)
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Cathy Clarke, Villa Carondelet High School sophomore: Cathy's school usually requires a uniform, but some days regular dress is allowed. A poll revealed that more than 90 per cent of the girls do not like the present uniform, so a new one was adopted with the student's help for next year.
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Mike Emerling, Palo Verde High School junior: One reason for Mike's sports coat and tie is that he is in the running for a student office. He says the school will allow a variety of clothing and hair creations, but that unless a student is neat and has short hair he cannot participate in school activities.
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Jacque Martin, Canyon del Oro High School freshman: "I think Canyon is liberal" she says, with about half the girls wearing miniskirts. Her own attire, a bloomer dress, is accepted at Canyon, but wouldn't be at other schools.
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Tom Galanis, Salpointe High School senior: Tom was one of the few boys seen with fairly long hair in the 12 high schools. He says Salpointe has eased regulations recently β "this year has been the best year." They have asked him to trim his hair for graduation, but otherwise they haven't said too much this year.
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Debbi Pendley, Immaculate Heart sophomore: She is shown in uniform, but with several added features including some large earrings and a necklace that centers around a hippie-favored bell. Debbie had her hemline ripped out in the past when the administration felt her skirt was too short. This happened on a day when the girls were wearing regular dress and was unfair, she feels.
On the same page, we heard also from the administrators:
Good Taste Keys Dress In Schools
Codes Established By Each District
Modes of dress continually change and for the most part high school dress codes have managed to keep pace.
The phrase which sums up the essential rule is "good taste." There is no common denominator for all schools, maintains Sunnyside High School Principal Dr. Robert C. Mitchell, because each community has its own standards.
Most Tucson schools do not allow bermuda shorts, boys with unruly long hair or girls with extremely short skirts. But the miniskirt is in, most schools have a few boys with long hair and no ruckus is raised over sandals.
Dr. Robert D. Morrow, Tucson School District 1 superintendent, says, "We feel as long as it is not offensive and doesn't disturb other students, it is proper." This is also the crucial point in Flowing Wells High School's policy, according to Principal Victor Meneley.
Morrow says the codes in the Tucson School District are basically up to each of the five high schools to establish. Students with more extreme styles will usually be permitted to attend classes, but not to represent the school in activities, he says.
Flowing Wells is one of the few schools that flatly rules out long hair for the boys. Though no school has more than a handful of boys with long hair, the rule β if there is one β which is given for permitting the hair is that it be kept clean and neat.
Every school has utilized students to help define dress standards, and most students accept what their peers have set as proper.
Administrators at both Amphitheater and Sunnyside High Schools said they were proud of their students' appearance, would match them against any other school. Not one school felt they had a problem with students' dress.
The Morgue Lady was but a child back then. When she went to high school, her brother's hair was longer than hers (hers wasn't short) and he was never sent home.
Skirts and dresses were so short on some girls that they could not bend over to pick up a fallen book. But many girls wore jeans anyway.
The rule that long hair had to be kept clean and neat was difficult to enforce. One man's unkempt in another man's artfully tousled. Perhaps uniforms are the way to go.
