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."
As we used to say, "There are three lengths of skirts. The micro, the mini and the don't bend over".
Personally, I don’t have a problem with school dress codes. And I don’t think it is inappropriate to ban cheerleading outfits in classrooms.
I wouldn’t consider it inappropriate to ban male students from wearing basketball, football or track uniforms in class either.
Probably not good that Teen-age boys be exposed to so much high elevation female thigh and mid-torso skin through an entire school day.
Yeah, and people wonder why our education system sucks. Kids come out of high school as ignorant as a sack of hammers and need the better part of a year of remedial classes in college, but damnit, they can cheer and throw a ball! I’m sure the Indian and Chinese teenagers are quaking in fear at the thought of competing against your kids in math and science.
The teachers get away with having sex with the students but a cheerleader uniform violates their dress code? Oh, how far we have sunk as a country!
Saw this in a skit once:
Woman: Do you like my skirt?
Man” Skirt? I thought it was a belt.
The trashing of culture continues, here’s what a college team wears. And notice what champions of diversity too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDeKkEcFdbI
I prefer that fathers and brothers regain control over their daughters and sisters. But, without such controls, girls will naturally try to compete with one another for male attention by dressing like sluts.
So, where fathers and brothers stumble and fall short, the rest of us have to pick up the slack.
And hot pants, hip huggers....
“My daughter was a cheerleader for a time. I dont think the outfits in this story are outrageous or vulgar. “
I would never let any of my daughters wear skirts like those which are at or near crotch level. The fact that no one thinks they are inappropriate shows how bad things are. I sent my kids to school to learn, not to be dressed like a whore in training. It also is bad for the boys who have enough trouble keeping focus on their work without being distracted by scantily clad chicks in class.
Boys today are exposed to much more than 'high elevation female thigh and mid-torso skin'.
/johnny
Too many school administrators trying to justify their jobs.
So it takes a village. Got it.
It's up to a girl's father and brothers. Hormonally, mothers are too much like their daughters to be much help.
My kids all have degrees and my son was on scholarship for football...One daughter was a cheerleader and the other was on her college softball team. They are all three successful in their lives.
The reaso kids come out of schools today “as ignorant as a sack of hammers” is because the total lack of discipline in their homes and in their schools...The liberal “dumbing down” of classes and the fear of “hurting the feelings” has brought on the erosion of education in this country...”Cheering” and “throwing a ball” is NOT the cause of lack of education. my children graduated from college in the early 90’s as the denegration of education was starting to take effect.
BTW, my grandchildren attend private schools just because of the liberal “dumbing down” and lack of discipline in the public education system.
Those kids will be out there bumping and grinding and doing the booty call dance to raunchy rap lyrics.
The grown ups will love it.
Good one!!
Pls see to my post at No. 78.
WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN!! omg Please don’t do that again.
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