Crop top solidarity
Sydney Academy students protest clothing crackdown
SYDNEY — Anastasia Kabatay cried as she recalled what was said to her by an administrator at Sydney Academy.
Like many female students and some male students, the Sydney Academy student was wearing a crop top in protest of the enforced dress code which bans the popular fashion trend.
The protest, organized by Grade 12 student Chloe Feltman, led to multiple students being sent home including Boutilier and Kabatay.
At lunch, students wearing crop tops and others in support of their protest gathered at the doors in a show of solidarity with those who were sent home.
After lunch, the students wearing crop tops weren't allowed back inside the school for classes.
Kabatay, who is Indigenous, felt singled from white students in her class who were also wearing crop tops by Sydney Academy Principal Kevin Deveaux.
"There were four white girls wearing a worse shirt than me, and he pointed over them and told me to put clothes on. I told him to stop sexualizing female bodies ... ," she said, her voice cracking as she was breaking down. "My shirt was not that bad. It was, like, an inch above my waist."
Sydney Academy's dress code prohibits female students from exposing shoulders, limits the length of shorts or skirts and indicates an appropriate cut for shirts.
Kabatay wasn't the only female student at the rally who said they had instances where they felt they were improperly chastised. Grade 9 student Haley Nicholson said she received a one-day suspension last week for wearing a shirt the principal deemed against school dress code.
Nicholson said she was wearing a tank top with a jacket overtop and it wasn't low cut. She and other students questioned why older, male administrators get to decide what is appropriate and why it might not be.
Students at the protest said although the dress code has some restrictions for male students, they aren't enforced like they are on female students. And sometimes they are enforced differently on individual students.
"A lot of girls here are breaking the dress code of the school board (Cape Breton-Victoria Centre for Education) but they don't get coded," said Aslan Whelan.
"But if you have boobs or a behind you'll get dress coded and it's true. It's happened to me."
UNFAIR
Feltham said the announcement made through the school on Wednesday reminding students crop tops aren't allowed sparked her desire to start the protest.
"I'm sick and tired of having my stomach, my shoulders and part of my legs sexualized when they aren't sexual at all," she said.
"I know it's not going to change unless I do something about it and this is my way of doing something about it."
She was angered by the announcement, which she said focused only on crop tops, skirts and shorts for girls.
Using social media to gather support, she had left school property with her mother and returned after getting a text from a friend to say her crop top protest had turned into a rally of support outside.
"I got a text and it said 'things are blowing up here,'" said Feltham, who recruited a friend to help her.
She returned to the school with her mother to find dozens of students outside, and realized how many students had worn crop tops and how many felt the dress code was biased against female students.
Grade 10 students Max MacDonald-Kearns also believes female students are dealt with more harshly when it comes to dress code infractions. He also said he finds nothing wrong with what his peers want to wear.
"I think the students should be able to wear what they want and the teachers should mind their own business. It's not sexual. There is no problem with it," he said.
SCHOOL RESPONSE
Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education spokesperson Michelle MacLeod spoke on behalf of the school and said they couldn't discuss the alleged disciplinary actions or comments of the principal.
MacLeod did provide a written statement about the protest.
"Sydney Academy has a standard of dress that was approved by the SAC (School Advisory Council). Recently, students requested, and have been added to the agenda, to appear before the next meeting of the SAC with a presentation to discuss their concerns with the presently approved standard of dress," the statement reads.
"We value our students' voice and appreciate their concerns. A committee of representatives of the student body will work with administration to get input and to ensure that the principles of inclusive education are followed and a safe and respectful learning environment and positive school."