The Pebble Issue 1

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features dress to By Maja Cannavo It’s a warm spring day, and MPH students have welcomed the change in weather with shorts, skirts and dresses in a rainbow of colors and styles. Upper Schoolers walk to class chatting and laughing. But anyone who’s left a little too much of their legs or shoulders exposed is also watching for Dean of Students Alex Leclercq, who could be lurking around the corner with his red notebook, lying in wait for the next out-ofdress-code student. Through April of this year, Leclercq had cited students for 53 dress code violations. Two years ago, he recorded 101. But despite students’ perceptions, Leclercq doesn’t enjoy playing the clothing police. “Quite frankly, the idea of telling people what to wear,” Leclercq said, “is antithetic to what kind of person I am. I sometimes feel like a Taliban who’s conquered the land and decided to impose a dress code on the people in that land, and I hate being in that position.” Even so, Leclercq acknowledges that the MPH dress code is an important part of the school’s identity. While today’s standards are much more relaxed than those of the past and some miss the days of neckties and dress shoes, the code’s current expectations reflect the school’s values of promoting individuality and freedom of expression in a welcoming atmosphere. This is reflected not only in the more causal expectations but also in the enforcement policy that Leclercq said affords students respect, as does the open invitation for students to have a say in their own rules. “I’m not sure the dress code contributes to MPH’s identity so much as reflects it,” Head of School Jim Dunaway said in an email. “The school is relatively casual and supports individuality, and I think you can see that in the dress code. MPH is a place that not only tolerates differences, but actively supports them.” Although students tend to complain about the dress code, some also acknowledge its positive effect. 22
Seniors Ato Arkhurst and Madison Brang with Dean Alex Leclercq in his office, photographed by Maddy Rieks. impress MPH’s dress code evolves to reflect individuality and fashion trends “I appreciate the level of class that it gives to the students,” junior Lisa Morocco said. “And when you look at the student population here compared to other student populations, it makes us stand out, I think, in a positive light.” The current MPH dress code is far removed from the school’s original one, which was similar to that of Christian Brothers Academy. CBA’s dress code allows dress pants, knee-length skirts, oxford shirts, polos (in the fall and spring only) and sweaters; it prohibits sneakers and sandals, among other items. When Donna Meehan started teaching math at MPH in 1984, Middle and Upper School boys had to wear ties or turtlenecks, and girls in those grades had to wear stockings or socks. Pants had to be dress pants worn with belts; boys had to wear dress shoes and socks as well. Sometimes when the weather was warm, the Dean of Students would declare a “No-Tie Day,” allowing boys to take off their ties and girls to take off their stockings or socks. Today, the dress code has far fewer restrictions. Ties and belts are no longer mandatory, nor are socks or stockings. Sneakers are allowed, as are all pants except jeans, leggings, yoga pants, pajama pants, sweatpants and athletic pants. Changes to the dress code have occurred gradually; important changes last came during the 2013-2014 school year, when the school abolished the requirement that skirts and shorts reach students’ knees. Now the dress codes states that clothes must cover shoulders, thighs, stomach and chest. Thanks to a petition by then-senior Hannah Lukow, the dress code also became gender-neutral that year, meaning that its rules became the same for boys and girls. Most notably, boys were no longer required to wear collared shirts. However, all shirts must have a “finished neckline” if they do not have a collar. The meaning of “finished neckline” has spring 2016 | 23
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