Dress code is a frequent, unavoidable topic of dispute at Choate. Whether one thinks it too conformist, or too loose, one opinion is uniform across the board— girls do have the upper hand.
Or had. The persistence of student council representative David Lam ’09 has led to a recent alteration in the dress code rules for Choate boys. Now, they are not required to wear a collared shirt underneath their sweaters. As long as it is not of the half-zip variety, even a t-shirt under a sweater is acceptable. Lam says, “I thought it was a simple change that could be made. I felt that the change would make things more convenient and easier for guys at the school”.
The proposal was first brought to the Student Council by Lam in early spring of 2007. His main points were that first, a formal crewneck or v-neck sweater can maintain the standards of class that the dress code strives for. Second, the weather is often too warm for an extra shirt to be comfortable. Third, the majority of people— students and faculty alike— view sweaters to be very formal. And last, that this change would not apply to half-zip sweaters.
The process of taking this revision from idea to action was a hard and difficult one, according to Lam. After receiving the suggestion from a fellow classmate, he wrote up a proposal and brought it to the Student Council’s attention. Many representatives were unsupportive at first, and his proposal had to be revised several times, with the combined efforts of Student Body President Jin Ha ’08 and fellow fifth form class President David Lim ’09. The revised proposal was eventually voted on and brought to the desk of Mr. Ford, Dean of Students, where it was approved on a trial basis in the middle of fall 2007.
Many believe the change isn’t going well. Several faculty members voice their concern that boys’ attire is becoming more “sloppy.” Mr. Ford is among this count, and says that he plans to contact the Student Council soon to either reconcile or terminate the trial period.
Even some students are dismayed. Timothy Ibbotson-Sindelar ‘09 comments, “It’s so bad; it’s causing more conflict between teachers and students,” referring to the constant disagreements over what is acceptable dress code. Right now, many feel that it is unclear what a real dress code violation is, with the new rule. To this, Lam says that if someone simply “announced the change in dress code and stated the limitations, I am sure that the problem would go away: there can be no argument in ambiguity between a regular sweater and a half zip sweater.”
