Ari Baum, dean of students, announced to students following seated lunch on Friday, January 19th, that female students at The Hill School would be prohibited from wearing skirts until further notice.
The announcement was met with shock from the student body. Baum had made a previous announcement earlier in the winter term warning female students that they must wear appropriate skirt lengths, or skirts would no longer be allowed.
“The warning that I gave however many weeks ago, was to the students. It wasn’t to say to the faculty ‘you need to do this differently,’” Baum said. “It’s on the students and it remains on the students, which is why it is indefinite. I did not use the word permanently.”
According to Baum, several male and female faculty members, as well as parents, have issued complaints concerning the length of female students’ skirts.
The rules and expectations section of The Hill School Handbook states that for skirts and dresses, the length must not be “shorter than four inches above the knee” and that “tights must be worn with skirts and dresses during the Winter Term and upon notification for certain events.”
Baum emphasized that the majority of the 105 faculty members, both short-tenured and long, had commented on the female students’ failure to meet these rules.
“Of much greater concern to me personally, is the complete lack of regard for the dress code from an authenticity standpoint,” Baum said. “It’s one thing to make an honest mistake. It’s quite another for there to be egregiously disregarded parts to the dress code to the amount and the frequency that is happening.”
Prior to the announcement made at lunch, Baum directly spoke to and gained insight from Headmaster Zack Lehman, Associate Headmaster Len Miller, Assistant Headmaster of Student Life Jennifer Lagor, and Associate Dean of Students Heidi Eccleston.
“This was not a decision made by the ‘administration,’” Eccleston said. “It was made on a group decision with everyone agreeing that we’re at an impasse on how to proceed at this point.”
Many students have expressed frustration with the decision.
“I think that at the end of the day teaching girls to be ashamed of their bodies and telling girls that exposing their bodies is embarrassing to the school is wrong,” Emma Wright ‘18, said. “There is not another way to look at it. It is just plain inappropriate and wrong.”
Students are also concerned that the new code is impractical considering not all students have the appropriate number of pants and some may not have the means to purchase new pants.
“Maybe it is time for the dress code to evolve to reflect girls of all body types,” Maggie Pearson ’18 said. “What four inches looks like on a short girl is very different than what four inches looks like on a tall girl.”
Claire Alfano ’19 says she feels the faculty never fully enforced the four-inches above the knee rule in the first place.
“It is also not fair to punish everyone when only a few students are really crossing the line,” Alfano said.
The Student Government Association has recently discussed the possibility of a gender neutral dress code in the future. However, the current dress code already has fairly broad terminology and is open for accomodations.
“We would work with any student who came in and expressed anything about the dress code not feeling like it applied to them or something about their own identity,” Baum said.
After classes ended on Friday, all female Hill students received an email from Baum repeating the announcement made at lunch and specifying the new code.
The new code states that female students are prohibited from wearing skirts as well as dresses and, along with this, female students must now wear pants that follow the rules outlined in the handbook.
The handbook states that khaki, chino, or corduroy pants of any color are permitted. Denim (all colors), spandex, leggings, and jeggings (or other form-fitting pants) are all prohibited
“The faculty’s job here is not to enforce the dress code; it’s a code,” Baum said. “It’s the student’s job to enforce the dress code.”