Dress Code Committee Finalizes Report

The Dress Code Committee made several changes to the Dress Code, which most notably would obligate professors to give absences to students who violate the Dress Code, place a restriction on wearing leggings and clarify the restriction on wearing jeans.

A few weeks before the fall 2011-2012 semester finals ended, The King’s Council initiated TKC's first-ever Dress Code Committee. The committee consists of Philosophy Professor David Talcott and students Hayley Manning, Landon Peoples, Tim Wainwright and Alexandra Harrison, who ran the meetings.

The Dress Code Committee represented the student body by drafting proposals and sending them to Dean of Students David Leedy after Harrison and Talcott made a few adjustments and finalized the proposal.

Although the Dress Code Committee’s work has ended, it has since been in the hands of Leedy and Student Body President Madison Peace to review the recommendations made by the committee.

“Most of the recommendations offered by the Dress Code Committee relate to adjustments to the written statement in the Handbook rather than significant alterations to the dress code, so I don’t foresee any major changes to the standards," Leedy said. "But there will likely be some adjustments in language in next year’s handbook to clarify expectations for dress.”

Peace also plans to meet with Provost Dr. Calvin White to discuss the proposal she has put together. Leedy has confirmed that no decisions have been made yet.

Freshman representative, Landon Peoples, talked about the Dress Code Committee's meetings:

Q: What was the main goal for the Dress Code Committee?

Peoples: The main goal of the Dress Code Committee was to refine what "business casual" really means. Many students (including the members of the committee) felt the phrase "dress code" had a lot of gray area. Our job was to clear that up, and propose our new additions and subtractions to the Council.

Q: Were the members of the committee chosen or open?

Peoples: The members were chosen [by the King's Council] ... my house president [Tim Wainwright] suggested me.

Q: What was your purpose on the Dress Code Committee?

Peoples: I think my purpose was to serve as a voice for the underclassmen, seeing as I was the only underclassman there. I've heard many students think I dress well, and I work in and study fashion. I'm sure I was chosen to give ideas from my experience with dressing for certain occasions and on how students can use [the dress code] to their advantage. Also, Haley Manning and I represented the MCA'ers and provided our take on what "business" means to us.

Q: How would a regular meeting run, and what would you talk about?

Peoples: We met once a week for an hour, each Wednesday, for about a month. Alexandra Harrison would usually narrate the meetings. In the beginning, we proposed each of our ideas to her, and she logged them down. We talked about the idea of jeans being allowed, how short girls’ skirts can be, proper shoe attire, etc. Basically any observations or trends we saw happening, we created guidelines for those. In the next meetings, we refined what we felt was practical that would work to all students, but also what was realistic to present to the Council.

The King's Council formed the Dress Code Committee, which made proposals and sent them to Dean of Students David Leedy after Harrison and Professor Talcott made a few adjustments and finalized the proposal.

Although the Dress Code Committee no longer meets, Dean Leedy and Student Body President Madison Peace have been reviewing the recommendations made by the Committee.

Madison met with Provost White and discussed the proposal she had put together.

You can read the current Student Handbook here. (Dress code description starts on page 55.) The following has been finalized for the 2012-2013 Student Handbook:

1. Page 56 in the Student Handbook: Listed under “Unacceptable Attire," "Head Wear" will be narrowed to “Caps and Beanies” as being unacceptable.
2. Pages 55-56 in the Student Handbook: The Dress Code will no longer be required for College Sponsored Events that do not occur in the school building during school hours.
3. Page 56 in the Student Handbook: The committee and council opposed banning leggings (the ban was originally suggested because females tend to wear leggings revealingly). Now leggings will only be acceptable if worn under a long shirt, a dress or a skirt; according to the council, it’s up to your “discernment and maturity” how you wear leggings within these new restrictions.
4. Page 56 in Student Handbook: Jeans will be labeled as “Unacceptable Attire" to clarify to students that jeans are not generally considered business casual. As with the Honor Code procedure, faculty, staff and peers will be responsible to remind you of Dress Code guidelines.
5. A new addition to the Dress Code: Professors will now mark students absent if their attire isn’t business casual.

You may have to revamp your closet or leave some things  in your hometown due to the new restrictions and additions. The changes will mainly act as clarification in the new Student Handbook for the 2012-2013 academic year. Dean Leedy  doesn’t foresee any changes to the Dress Code for the new school location.