Although fashion can be a medium for young people to express their individuality, mandatory school uniforms can also be beneficial for students. School uniforms simplify everyday clothing choices for students and families alike.

It is possible to assume what socioeconomic status a student comes from by looking at their clothing. A student wearing Balenciaga runners is probably (but not always) more wealthy than a student wearing beat up sneakers. When a student dresses based off what they have in their closet, their outfits illustrate what their family can afford. This creates social differences between students and an opportunity for students to judge those that belong to a low socioeconomic status in a much easier manner. However, when schools implement uniforms, schools can avoid this kind of injustice happening to students.

With school uniforms, “first impressions are more about who you are as a person rather than what you can afford,” said senior Jillian Bowe. Because uniforms establish uniformity among students, they would be less inclined to judge one another’s clothing. This allows students to look past one’s outward appearance.

Parents of students who wear school uniforms do not have to stress about providing adequate money for their student to constantly shop for school clothing. It is common for students to wish to keep up with trends or just with other students at schools when it comes to fashion choices. In spite of this, not all parents can afford for their child to spend excessively. School uniforms reduce the school expenses for parents in regards to clothing significantly. Since students are required to wear the same outfit at school everyday, parents may only need to buy a few items for their child, rather than an entire haul.

“Many often spend way too much time worrying about their outfits [to school],” said sophomore Arjav Patel. It is important for students to find the right clothing to wear in order to ensure that they are comfortable at school that day and that they are following the school’s dress code. This may cause students to sometimes worry about not having something to wear that checks all those boxes. Senior Esther Schubert, who favors school uniforms, says, “I hate thinking about what I am going to wear at school the next day.” Students who wear school uniforms do not have to think about what they’re wearing to school daily since it is already picked out for them.

School uniforms allow students to maintain a united front. “I think the whole [school] atmosphere is more like: we are all the same and together,” said Schubert. Schools should incorporate school uniform into their policies in order to improve the overall well-being of their students.

School uniforms, yuck. For all those teachers who believe it would be easier to force us into the same clothing everyday for four years of high school, c’mon. Really? Every year students get sucked into sitting through the “high school is going to help you decide who you want to be” speech, so if that is really how it is supposed to be, then why shouldn’t we be allowed to freely express ourselves. Where’s the individuality in wearing some gross blazer and tie with a skirt or khakis? Yes, I understand that that is stereotypical as that’s what kids in Disney movies have to wear, but still, no one wants to wear some bland outfit that takes away their opportunity to be themselves.

Uniforms bring out the worst in all of us, as it causes more controversy than you would ever believe, with some saying it’s sexist while others just don’t not appreciating the thought of it. The sexism role is huge, as the ‘girls can wear skirts’ rule applies in almost all school uniform dress codes, which students claim to be “pervy.”  Bullying is a huge factor as well, due to certain girls having longer legs than others, or weighing more than the girl next to her, which results in a uniform dress code noy looking uniform at all. Junior Brie Bradley disagrees with school uniforms, stating “I was forced to wear school uniforms for years. I was shamed every day for my long legs and my skirt was required to be longer than everyone else’s at school. Uniforms are supposed to “unify” a school and eliminate judgement while accentuation academic seriousness. In reality, uniforms don’t erase the issue of discrimination in the slightest and discourages a student’s freedom and self expression as well.” Although any school could include the option of gender neutral uniforms, what is the true likelihood of that?

No one should ever have to feel uncomfortable or not like themselves in the clothes they have to wear everyday. It’s unfair to limit what students wear, making their options one or two shirts and pants or a skirt. Junior Kirsten Jordan agrees with a stand against uniforms, saying, “From kindergarten to 6th grade I went to a charter school. There, we had to wear solid colored polo shirts with small logos, either khaki, navy blue or black pants/skirts/shorts. Shoes has to be ‘modest’ so no sandals even when it was hot outside. No hoodies, and if we wanted to wear a jacket they had to be plain, no hood and the same color scheme as the pants. I hated this as I was stripped of my individuality during those 7 years of education. Students weren’t even allowed to wear earrings or dye their hair.” These type of things shouldn’t even be allowed. If you’re going to make it a law that I have to show up to this building for a certain amount of days during the year, then let me wear what I want to wear.