my story
I was 12 years old when I was dress coded for the first time. It was the second day of 6th grade, and I was wearing my favorite top that I wore almost every day in elementary school. It was an off-the-shoulder, white, loose blouse. I didn’t even make it to my third period before my math teacher pulled me aside to tell me that my shirt was “inappropriate”, but because it was only the second day of school, she would let me off with a warning. When I asked for further explanation, I was told “you don’t want to distract your male classmates.”
But I got home that day and started to wonder: why am I being blamed for boys’ lack of self control? I searched for answers in the student handbook, but all it said was, “Students may not wear anything inappropriate or distracting to school.” It was so unclear that teachers could basically dress code students for anything they didn’t like - and it was mostly girls who were being targeted. I knew it had to change.
So I started a campaign to change the dress code by first petitioning my classmates, then working with teachers, then finally appealing directly to the school board. It took three years, but we made it happen. Our dress code is now clear, fair and completely gender-neutral.
But in my transition from middle school to high school, I thought of all the things I could’ve done better, and how I wished I knew what I know now back then. It could’ve taken me so much less time, so much less hardship, if I had the resources.
And then my “Free The Shoulders'' campaign made it on the local news. Students from other counties started asking me how they could do what I did. And then I got an idea. What if other students could access a plethora of resources, follow a step-by-step roadmap, and change their dress code in a fraction of the time that I did, with a fraction of the energy spent? What if we could encourage students and young women to be active in their community by making change easier than ever? And so, the Coded Campaign was born.
