Category: by Ashley W ’16

You are walking down the hallway, trying to avoid the daily traffic congestion. You see the same posters from last week: another advisory bake sale, blood donation, club to eventually join… and a poster about shorts? Recently, BSGE’s walls have been adorned with posters mimicking the nature of the “In case of fire, do not use elevators, use stairs” sign by the elevators. Instead of advocating for fire safety, however, the poster states, “In case of severe heat, do not use shorts, burn for the sake of boys not being distracted instead.” The posters appear to be making a statement against the dress code in terms of the length of females’ shorts. Several copies have been taped to the hallway walls, girls’ bathroom mirrors and stalls, as well as the staircases. Four BSGE students were interviewed and chose to remain anonymous. They all agreed that the dress code being based off of the concept that “boys will be boys” is ridiculous and sexist. However, there were some discrepancies in their opinions on Tanksy and their posters. Some students described the posters as “courageous,” “striking,” and “a battle for student justice.” Whereas others agreed that the cause was just, but felt that the means were a bit “disrespectful” to “the people who are setting us up for our future education and lives.”

We all know the story: the basketball jock falls in love with the science geek over a karaoke duet, the two overcome their differences to star in the school musical, and then everyone breaks out into a huge song and dance performance. Unfortunately, BSGE is not East High and actual high school is not High School Musical (1, 2, or 3). So then how does dating in our school work? Is there hope for a love equivalent to Troy and Gabriella’s? Five BSGE students were interviewed on their prior experiences or general observations about dating in school, and all are anonymous for the sake of privacy.

“Crowded,” “constrictive,” “restrictive,” “open,” and “awkward” were all used to describe dating in BSGE. Four students stated that boys are usually the first ones to make the first move. Even though girls may be the first to “initiate the flirting,” boys are the first to ask for phone numbers and set a date. Everyone agreed that relationships usually begin through a combination of texting and face to face interaction. But one student warns to be wary of picking up the wrong cues, because nowadays, asking someone to spend time outside of school “does not always make an official relationship.”

Three interviewees thought that the movie theatre is an ideal first date spot, because movies “take away the awkwardness of a first date.” The top recommendations are scary movies, because there is “an opportunity for cuddling,” and a movie series, because they are “gender neutral” and allow “both the guy and the girl to get excited for something they both like.” The other two interviewees believed that getting food together in a cafe, or going for a walk in Central Park were ideal first date spots. Whatever you choose to do, remember that a first date is for “really getting to know your significant other” and building off of that initial crush.

Kenilworth Jr High in California, Minnetonka High School in Minnesota, and Haven Middle School in Illinois are just a few of the schools that have banned young girls from wearing leggings or yoga pants to school. These schools have required girls who want to wear leggings or yoga pants to also wear fingertip-length shorts, a skirt, or a dress on top. Girls who are seen wearing tight legwear are sent home to change, given a warning, or asked to change into more “appropriate” wear in school (something that happens at BSGE as well). Due to the nature of leggings to accentuate certain body parts, the general reasoning behind this ban is that educators view tight pants as “inappropriate” for school and a disruption to education. Sometimes school officials say that if  girls’ clothing is inappropriate it makes it harder for boys to concentrate in school.

The response from parents and administrators vary nationwide; parents of students in Minnetonka High School praise the principal’s ban, describing the trend of leggings as “troubling” and a “bad influence,” whereas the parents of students in Kenilworth Jr High describe the ban as “sexist” and “unfair.” Girls in Haven Middle School protested the ban on March 18th by wearing leggings to school and having over 500 students sign a petition. Although BSGE has not participated in this ban, several students yield strong opinions towards the topic. Natalia B ‘16 says, “It is sexist to prohibit us from