Way back in the Pleistocene, when I was a teen-ager, I went to Stuyvesant High School. Stuy had some reasonable rules (like don’t bring alcohol to Excursion Day), and the students did our best to get around those rules (vodka injected into whole oranges was one memorable solution). But one thing we could rely on was that our school trusted us to dress ourselves appropriately.
When I got to college, I was HORRIFIED at the stories my friends told of fighting their schools’ dress codes, “Why aren’t we allowed to wear shorts of this length if the cheerleaders are wearing their skirts that much shorter?” and other such battles. And somehow, the dress code is always aimed at young women.
Well, it turns out that Stuyvesant has seen fit to institute a dress code this year. And once again, it’s aimed at girls, and it’s applied arbitrarily. When I attended Stuy, the present principal was a Physics teacher, and Dr. Greyson taught Civil and Criminal Law as an elective (which I took, and which, by the way, they still offer). I do sincerely think it’s a pity that Principal Teitel either has not taken the course, or doesn’t understand it, since the description of the class reads,
Who should take this course?
Any student who wishes to explore current legal issues, who wishes to explore the basic legal concepts underlying the civil system, who may be thinking of law as a career or who wishes to understand his/her rights and obligations as a citizen should take this course.
What will we be studying?
The difference between civil and criminal law. Understanding the role of the lawyer in society. Torts, First Amendment Law, Discrimination Law, Sexual Harassment. There will be an in-class trial.
What will be expected of me?
Major emphasis is on class participation and a willingness to tackle problems inherent in dispensing civil justice.
How is the course taught?
Lecture, class discussion, debates.
What are the completion requirements?
Excellent note taking and critical thinking. Six tests per term including take home exams.
Details and pre/co-requisites:
This one term course is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. It is offered during the spring term.
Now contrast that with the experiences of some of the students,
I have been stopped to justify my clothing many, many times since the beginning of this school year, and nine out of 10 times, I wasn’t breaking the dress code. I’ve been told that even though my skirts were technically acceptable, they were still too short for me to wear, and once it was suggested that I should follow a separate dress code, wherein my skirts should end at least four inches past my fingertips, and preferably at my knees…
When I took Dr. Greyson’s course, there was an emphasis on the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Principal Teitel, I’m not seeing Equal Protection being applied here.
As I noted above, Stuyvesant students are intelligent and highly resourceful. I am sure that the current student body will come up with a smart, incisive, and extremely practical way to demonstrate to the administration that the dress code should be abandoned.
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Ross Patterson
May 29, 2012 at 9:42 PM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
That’s almost funny. Because the first young women to attend Stuyvesant didn’t have to fight the dress-code wars that their sisters in other schools did. Because, oh yeah, THEY HAD TO FIGHT TO ATTEND AT ALL. I arrived a couple of years later, and they were wearing what young women all over New York wore – jeans, shorts, skirts, “cute” tops, blouses, etc. Except, of course, for the gym classes, which required the dreaded gym uniform. Which they all hated, and still hate to this day, every time a picture comes out at a reunion.
Ross ’76
Liz
May 29, 2012 at 9:50 PM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I graduated in ’87, and we wore whatever the heck we wanted. Gym class was shorts and t-shirts, no gymsuit. Thank goodness.
But here they are, some of the smartest teenagers on the planet roaming their halls and what are they making them worry about? Skirt length. Don’t these kids have Westinghouse Awards to win or something?
Wolverine
May 31, 2012 at 2:41 AM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Liz — Let me try to curl your socks here. Remember Ralph Poppo, the homeless guy who had his face eaten off in Miami a few days ago? According to the London Daily Mail, he was once a top student at Stuy — member of the Latin Club; worked in the Guidance Office. Nobody seems to know yet what happened to him after Stuy.
Stevens Miller
June 3, 2012 at 3:37 AM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
W, are you trying to scare Liz? If you are, stop wasting your time.
Wolverine
June 6, 2012 at 4:22 AM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Stevens — Notice I said “try to curl your socks.” Can’t blame a fella for giving a shot at the impossible once in awhile.
BTW, Happy 16th!