Off To The Office You Go..

Winnie Amanuel, Writer
June 12, 2012
Filed under Frank Hurt News, Opinions

Having a bad hair day? What if you got a bad haircut and you want to cover it up? Well that’s too bad for you, because here at Frank Hurt Secondary, along with many of other schools, you are not allowed to wear hats. It’s not only hats, though; it is also bandanas, toques, beanies, hoodies, and pretty much anything that covers your head. The administration says that this is school policy because it is a safety issue, and supposedly helps the staff identify “intruders” or people that are not supposed to be at Frank Hurt. Wouldn’t it be more effective to wear uniforms? Anyone can take off a hat, but not everyone can have a Frank Hurt uniform.

As students, clothing is just one of the many ways we express ourselves. There’s preppy, there’s the edgy punk-rock look, and everything in between.  It’s what makes us unique, and one of the things that makes us comfortable in our own skin. Hats are part of clothing as well. Although they’re considered an accessory, hats are still a fashion item that can bring out our personality.

It seems as if I hear teachers saying “take off your hat” more than anything else. Some even go the extra mile and take the hat off for you. There are the teachers that send you to the office.  A fellow student was caught wearing her beanie at school, her excuse was that she was cold. Seems valid enough, but still, one of the vice principals confiscated it. The VP was so focused on this student and her hat, she was completely oblivious to three other Frank Hurt students going into the school store and stealing chips and drinks. What is more threatening to the school; stealing or wearing a hat?

Let’s face it. Wearing a hat does not make you a threat to society or your classmates; your actions determine that. If you were to come to school and commit a crime, the fact that you wore a hat would not matter. The administration knows who you are, and will find you regardless.

Students say we want to be allowed to wear hats because we don’t see harm in it, but teachers say no as it is their way of figuring out who the intruders are.  I say, let us find common ground. We have all heard of “casual Fridays” – well, how about “hat days?”  Once a week, the students can wear hats. If that is too much to ask for, then at least allow us to wear hats when we aren’t feeling well, or just having a bad hair day. The truth is, we can’t always be perfect, and being that we are at school for six hours a day, five days a week for about eight months we will without a doubt have a couple of those days. Sometimes we sleep in, so we don’t have time to do our hair perfectly in the morning. We shouldn’t have to be worried about what others are going to say when they see you. The decision to look like crap should be ours, not someone else’s. Fitting in in highschool is already hard as it is, let’s not add more to the stress of “not being pretty enough”.