I believe that the new dress code trying to be enforced at Marianna High School is interfering with students personal rights to Freedom of Expression. Expression includes spoken or written words, art & music, messages on buttons, t-shirts, & the internet, how you dress, protests and rallies, joining clubs and organizations, refusing to salute the flag, and symbolic speech like armbands or badges according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Legally, I do not see how administrators can make students tuck in their shirts.

Marianna High School is a public school. MHS should be focusing on improving the education of students, not how the students dress. I find it hard to believe that learning is the chief priority at MHS. It IS NOT interfering with learning by having a shirt un-tucked.

If students tuck in an undershirt, so that no skin will be shown while sitting or standing, why should the outer shirt have to be tucked in too? Many teen shirt styles for females are well below the waist line, and are too long to be tucked in. Example: Baby-doll tops. Not everyones body type is made to have clothes tucked in. This could damage a person's self-confidence. How can this be good for a students performance in class? Theyll be too worried about how they look and what people are saying about them.

Secondly, the school is trying ban the wearing of any piercings besides the ears! I find that rule absurd. If in fact a dress code is to make the learning environment less disruptive, then enforcement of the dress code should be just as or much less disruptive to the student body.

We would like to be able to wear our under-shit tucked in, with any style outer-shirt untucked.

Please sign to help support the individuality of students at Marianna High School!

Thank you.