No more collared shirts. Hoodies and sweatshirts every day. Mid-Pacific t-shirts on more than just Fridays. Nose studs. Tattoos. Turtle necks. 

A new dress code released in January provides more clothing options and accessories for students. It allows students to feel more comfortable and express themselves in the way they would like, but also look presentable, said grade 12 dress code committee leader Nicole Tsuda.

“We want to be able to please everyone. We want to make sure that not only are the students comfortable, but also the adults on campus because it’s their life too,” said Tsuda. 

Early this school year, Tsuda and school administrators started a committee to discuss the Mid-Pacific dress code. 

“Since I came on board, dress code has been a sticking point for some people that they didn’t care for, and they wanted to change,” said assistant principal and committee advisor Jennifer Grems. 

In the committee, members shared ideas and potential changes for the dress code. Members discussed reasons to make changes, committee member Sasha Krstic said. 

“We’ve made a document before, but we haven’t made a document that actually will affect over hundreds of peoples’ lives in a way,” said Krstic.

Students said the new dress code recognized changes in fashion and authorizes the clothing choices they’re already making. 

“Before everybody was breaking the dress code, and now it’s like we legalized it, so we don’t have to hide anymore,” said Ammen Tawfik, grade 11. 

Aliyah Curran, grade 11, said she wears pretty much the same clothes as she did before the dress code changed. 

“I can do exactly what I was doing before, but without being afraid of getting in trouble,” said Aliyah Curran, grade 11. 

Grade 12 student Kolten Soon said he’s embracing the new dress code. 

“It was a struggle every day to find good polo shirts to wear, and it was expensive to keep buying uniforms to come to school in,” he said. 

Changes in the dress code are a small step forward in student expression, said Tsuda. 

“I think that if the students show they can be trusted by following a more relaxed dress code, then there might be more room to fit in another small step,” said Tsuda.