Next school year (2023-2024), McAuliffe is putting a rule in place that says you are not allowed to wear hoodies. Many students are upset with this, and think that they should be able to wear hoodies. The McAuliffe administrators came up with rules for safety concerns. It was also brought up because of past events at East High School and other school incidents around the state and even the country.

According to Mrs. Frenzel, the 6th grade dean, we aren’t allowed to wear hoodies because they are a safety concern. She says that it is for safety, and if “somebody had their hood up and their back was facing me, it would be next to impossible to tell who it is. We don’t want people who shouldn’t be in the building in the school.” 

Similar to other rules that require enforcement, if students defy this rule, they will be talked to by a staff member and asked to not do it again. If the behavior continues, a refocus will be given. If somebody keeps wearing one after getting a refocus, it’s a call home. As you can see, somebody wearing a hoodie when they shouldn’t be over and over will just fall down the rabbit hole. 

Some students are relieved because they feel more safe with the rule. But, many students are upset and angry that this is happening. Ingrid Ball, a 6th grader here at McAuliffe said, “I think it’s not smart because parents spend about $50.00 on every kid to buy things to keep their kids warm during the school day. Sweatshirts are also clothing that everybody can be comfortable and be themselves.” This is a great point because McAuliffe clothes can cost a lot of money. Just a few hoodies can cost $50+. Now that we are banning hoodies, all this money went to waste. Families in need of financial support really could have used this money for something else. 

There are some ways you could get important people in the school on your side. For example, 6th grader Dylan Triebel, sent an email to Mr. Dennis, discussing the pros of having hoodies in our school. Mr. Dennis replied, saying that she had some good points and would bring it up at the next meeting. 

Do you think we should keep hoodies? If you have any questions, ask your teachers, principals, deans, etc, and they will be able to help you.