Posted on 08/27/2013 9:16:13 AM PDT by llevrok
In a perfect world, every father would think his daughter is beautiful. David Fraser agrees. "Yeah, but she's actually beautiful," he says of his own daughter, 15-year-old Jeana. "I mean, she looks like a cheerleader."
Jeana is a cheerleader. A sophomore, she wears her uniform to Countryside High School on game days along with the rest of the squad. Or she did until Friday, when the school decided its own uniform was against the dress code.
Several Pinellas County schools are restricting or banning their own cheerleading uniforms during classroom hours amid a broader crackdown on the student dress code. In past years, administrators turned a blind eye during football season to the cheerleaders' sleeveless uniforms with short skirts.
But this year, as Pinellas high schools adopt stricter dress codes or simply step up enforcement, the uniforms aren't flying during the school day. Not all parents are pleased.
"If it's an approved school uniform — which it was approved, by the administration, years ago — why is it out of dress code?" asked Christine Johnson, whose daughter is a junior on Countryside's varsity squad. "And why can they wear it in front of thousands of people at a football field if they can't wear it on game day at school?"
Fraser said his daughter was upset to learn that her uniform was "suddenly too vulgar."
"She takes it very seriously," he said. "She likes the uniform. She's proud to be a cheerleader."
Countryside principal Gary Schlereth said he is working with the cheerleading team to find a compromise. Before the school year started, his administration asked the girls to order special jackets to cover their arms. The issue of the skirts' length "really came to light" on the day of Countryside's first football game on Friday, Schlereth said.
Letting the girls wear their uniforms creates a double standard, he said. The district's dress code requires that shirts have sleeves and skirts fall to at least mid-thigh.
"A parent looks at their son or daughter getting 'dress coded' for wearing something short, then they look at the cheerleading uniform and they say, 'What about that?' " Schlereth said.
While he explained away the uniforms as "spirit wear" in the past, Schlereth felt it wasn't fair anymore.
Countryside wasn't the only high school to start cracking down on cheerleading uniforms. This year at Northeast and Gibbs, cheerleaders are allowed to wear their tops to school only if they wear T-shirts under them. Their skirts aren't allowed. Gibbs cheerleaders wear jeans to class, then change for the football game.
"It's appropriate for them when doing that activity, but a school has another purpose, and that's academics," Gibbs principal Stephanie Adkinson said.
Over at Northeast, principal Kevin Hendrick put it bluntly: "The skirts were just too short."
St. Petersburg High School's cheerleaders have multiple sets of skirts. As of this year, they can only wear the longer skirt during class-time, along with a jacket over the top, assistant principal Darlene Lebo said.
At Boca Ciega, cheerleaders can wear their uniforms to class only if they wear clothes under them. Assistant principal Kathy Van Dora predicted the team would end up wearing their "warm-up pants" or sweatpants, with a jacket over the top or shirt underneath it.
Lakewood High hasn't had a regular season football game yet, but principal Robert Vicari said the cheerleading uniforms would not be allowed in school on game days anymore.
It hadn't occurred to Vicari before a Tampa Bay Times reporter called Monday. The cheerleading coach hadn't asked, he said. He would be sure to let the team know.
As Countryside tries to find a compromise with its cheerleaders, Schlereth is considering ordering track pants for the girls. Meanwhile, the cheerleading coach told some parents they could order Velcro attachments to lengthen the skirts. Fraser said that does little for him or his daughter.
"In my opinion, adding some sort of a tear-away Velcro attachment to their skirts while at school is not a solution, or even a compromise. It's just a weird thing to do."
Oh, hey, thanks for that. Now I can skip lunch....
The chearleaders at our local High school have these same short, tight skirts. Every time they raise their arms the skirt comes up a little bit and if they do a back flip or something they have to actually pull the skirt back down. IMO if they have to constantly pull the thing down then it’s too tight and/or too short.
It’s obvious you never played any sport or cheered...Your jealousy is unflattering....
If the school board changes its mind about the dress code, I hope it doesn’t set a precedent for the swim or wrestling teams. Cheerleader uniforms for school children should be reasonably modest, and even so, they could run afoul of a reasonable dress code. When I went to school in the 1980s, boys couldn’t wear shorts!
Dunno, doesn’t sound comfortable or smart to wear full cleats on school floors.
The cheerleaders uniforms look about like the norm for the times. Not letting their cheerleaders wear their own uniforms to school on game day seems a little ridiculous. If they can't be seen at school in them, then I guess they shouldn't be seen at a school function in them. So I'd say either change their uniforms or change the policy.
My daughter was a cheerleader for a time. I don’t think the outfits in this story are outrageous or vulgar. Having said that, I support the schools dress code, and the effort to remain consistent. The girls can wear warm-up suits, or appropriate street clothes until game time.
Interesting to watch these girls with their half-a-bun-showing cheerleading outfits. They spend the whole ball game unconsciously tugging downward on the hems of their skirts to cover up just a bit. It’s clear that they’re not totally comfortable with them.
I see the same thing with young women who are showing too much skin on top. They’re constantly tugging their top up.
Dress codes would not be required if fathers and brothers would regain their control over their daughters and sisters.
When I was in Jr. High we attended swimming class completely nude.
I agree with the swimsuit analogy - just because it is appropriate wear for the athletic event doesn’t mean it’s appropriate in the classroom. The school has a dress code policy for the classroom, and it shouldn’t exempt anyone from it.
And then there’s the whole perception that the “jocks” and cheerleaders are often perceived to get favorable treatment in the first place. Bending the dress code rules, even for team uniforms, just reinforces that perception.
Back in the day we wore shorts under our pep outfits,,big deal. Nothing revealed. It sounds like the Taliban is running the show at the school district.
What they could do is come up with a special ‘campus’ outfit just for the cheerleaders. It could be exclusive, yet fun. It means more dough $$$$ for the parents though. Then, if you want to see the cheerleaders in their short skirts, you gotta go to the game!
When churches collaborated with the god of this world, “Entertainment”, the natural progression of fashion trends for Sunday was sure to follow.
I think it was called “investing in our youth”, or “meeting the kids where they are in their world”, or some such tripe. In came the bongo drums and country guitars as concert material, as you say.
Thanks.
So it is OK with you if public employees assume that control?
Orrrr,,maybe on the days the cheerleaders wear their outfits, the entire school gets a modest break from the rigid dress code and can loosen up a bit. Not vulgar. Just use common sense.
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