The dress code at Alamo Heights Junior School went from clean, safe, and decent—a very relaxed dress code—to a very strict, stern, and precise dress code. This new and improved dress code has had positive and negative impacts on a variety of students and faculty on a daily basis.

One of the Alamo Heights Junior School female students, Mary Wesley Gissell (8th grade), says, “There are multiple times in the day when I feel like I have to change my outfit so I don’t get dress-coded.” Mary Wesley Gissell notes how last year she did not have to think about the outfit she was wearing to school that day, but this year what she wears is constantly on her mind. She also says, when speaking about last year, “I would wear tank tops every day.”

Another Alamo Heights student, Alijah Garcia (8th grade, male), states, “I can’t wear hats or hoodies to the school.” He tells us further into the interview, “I would like to wear pajamas because I like to wear my pajamas a lot.” According to Garcia, last year he was able to wear clothing he felt comfortable in, but since the new dress code, he has had to think about his outfit and not just throw it on.

Compared to when we asked Mary Wesley, she exclaimed to us, “I think the dress code is a little too restricted, especially about the climate we live in.” Mary Wesley continues sharing and says, “I think girls should be able to wear whatever they want to keep themselves from overheating rather than just to keep people’s eyes off them.” She shares with us that the dress code was made more based on how we look rather than how we feel.

When we asked Victor Saldana (Vice Principal) about his thoughts on the current dress code compared to the previous one, he had many different viewpoints. He told us, “There’s pros and cons to everything,” Saldana stated. “You dress differently when you go to the beach than when you go to the church, than when you go to a football game, than when you go to the park.”

When we talked to the faculty about how they handle dress code violations, Karen Walker (8th grade math) stated that last year she dress-coded students “probably daily.” Further into the interview, Karen Walker told us that since the new dress code has changed, she hasn’t had to dress code people quite as much. In a previous interview, Victor Saldana told us, “But to be completely honest, most students know when they are wearing something they shouldn’t.”

Faculty and students are adjusting to the new dress code, but it can be said with certainty that this new dress code has changed a lot and has had a big impact on Alamo Heights Junior School.