With warmer weather comes the inevitability of students, mainly girls, breaking dress code, like the one that frequently goes unenforced at BHS. Nationally, this is the time of year when the stories trending almost daily on Facebook will be about girls who are told to cover up at school because what they’re wearing (or aren’t wearing) is distracting to males.

I’m not writing to assert some sort of ultra-feminist opinion that a girl would write when she has nothing better to do than to pick a fight with her school. Nor is my intention to convince every girl to keep her knees and elbows covered. But don’t get me wrong–I can’t stand girls I read about in news articles who come to school with an exposed midriff and booty shorts and complain when they’re told to cover up. In my eyes, it’s not so much about modesty; it’s about dressing appropriately for the situation.

As students, school is our workplace. Our teachers get paid to work with us. And at our workplace, we should dress and behave somewhat professionally. I’m a strong opponent of uniforms, having had to wear one through the fourth grade, but it is important that the clothing we wear not be distracting to ourselves in school, and in a school with unpredictable room temperatures, layers are the best bet.

Even when someone comes to school with too much skin exposed, it is not okay to tell her to cover up because she may distract others.  I find food distracting, and yet I still write my articles in the kitchen. Rather, she should be told such clothing is inappropriate for a workplace environment. It would probably feel odd to discuss very high-level math or science with your midriff and entire legs showing. But I wouldn’t know–I rarely discuss high-level math or science.

There is no need for male students to wear a suit and tie every day, nor females a dress or a skirt, but school is not meant to be a social gathering. You would not behave the same way at school as you would hanging out with your friends at the mall, so it makes sense that you would not dress the same way–whether you’re male or female.

A Northwestern University study found that students who wore a lab coat did better on a test than students without one. This isn’t because lab coats have magical powers; it’s because students who felt dressed for the part played it better. As inappropriate as exposing too much skin would be for the work-like environment that schools try to be, pajamas would be just as inappropriate, no matter how modest they are, because they are not typically associated with a professional environment. A white dress would be very inappropriate at a funeral, regardless of how modest it is.

If you were on your way to your job at a nightclub wearing jeans and sweatshirt, an outfit completely appropriate for school, I would wonder why you weren’t dressed appropriately for your job. If you happen to be working at a camp in Texas during the summer, even if you’re the director, you might find that the appropriate uniform is a tank top and athletic shorts; the same outfit wouldn’t slide for even the lowest intern at an office.

No matter how much people tell others not to judge, we are judged by our clothes. So, I won’t say “Cover up!” But rather, “Dress appropriately for the context.”