About-face on legwear dress code
BLS backs off ban after kids protest
Boston Latin School interim headmaster Michael Contompasis, faced with the threat of renewed student protests over discrimination at the prestigious school, will let girls wear leggings.
A bulletin today — supplanting an earlier notice that the prior dress code will be enforced as of Nov. 1 — states that the form-hugging garb will be allowed as long as it is not sheer or see-through.
The about-face on the legwear followed a student petition drive Friday claiming an excessive “patriarchal” focus on girls’ sexuality, and potential racism in bans on “gang-related” clothing. The administration was hit by a flood of emails over the weekend, and yesterday, a front-page Boston Herald story and a series of student meetings with Contompasis.
“We are very sensitive to the fact that we have kids here who are struggling with their own identity. We don’t want to create an environment where they feel uncomfortable,” Contompasis told the Herald yesterday.
“No one condones things that might be of serious consequence. We’re not picking on young women any more than we’re picking on young men,” he said. “We’re trying to establish a reasonable code that reflects what we think is necessary.”
The latest protest movement at the troubled school follows the ouster of its top two administrators last summer over reports about racial tensions and amid federal and city investigations.
Student Liliana Severin, who led the dress code petition drive, said the school seems willing to work with students on updating the dress code.
“Leggings used to be defined as inappropriate attire. They changed that this morning, however,” Severin said.
“During that meeting we also talked about maybe revising the rest of the plan and some areas of that plan would be things such as spaghetti strap tank tops and dresses. A woman’s shoulder should not be inappropriate for the business of education,” she said.
“Shorts, dresses and skirts that are more than four inches above the knee are things that are not inherently sexual or inherently made to distract from the business of education,” Severin added. “BLS is very willing to work with us and talk with us about how to revise this.”
City Councilor Tito Jackson praised the students for their activism and added that, like them, “I am also concerned about terminology like ‘gang-related clothing,’” which students said they believe discriminates against minorities.
But Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who noted that Contompasis sought to enforce a pre-existing dress code, said, “The dress code is there for a reason: to help young people as they graduate into college, how to carry themselves and how to dress and act as adults. I think they have to understand that. Not having appropriate clothing in school, I think that’s a message. The Latin School has always prided itself on dress codes. It’s not the only school in the city with a dress code.”