Within the past couple of weeks, it seems that my alma-mater, Divine Child High School, has been causing a bit of an uproar in its community. The private Catholic High school is being put under a microscope for simply trying to enforce their dress code, and what was clearly intended as a light-hearted joke, is now being blown way out of proportion.
The high school has had strict guidelines on what girls can and cannot wear to school dances for as long as anyone can remember. Divine Child is a Catholic school, so it should not be surprising that they may be promoting a more modest dress code than other high schools. However, although the school has set very clear guidelines on what students can and cannot wear, girls continue to defy the dress code that has been set. This being said, the school seemingly decided enough was enough, and started enforcing the guidelines in a different manner.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the modesty poncho. It has been placed at the front of the school, as a reminder of what will be given to students, if they decide to make the choice to go against the school's dress code at prom. Some are saying that by the school enforcing this rule, they are shaming female students for wanting to display their bodies and wearing what they want to wear. However, if you know anything about Divine Child administration, you know that this fate can be easily avoided, and that the modesty poncho was definitely intended as a joke. The school is simply enforcing a dress code that follows their Catholic values, and promoting classy and modest dresses, not the oppression of women.
As someone who attended Divine Child, I can tell you right now that this school does its best to build young women up, and to help them find their identity in Christ, and in the world around them. Yes, they are very traditional and teach values that are a bit old-fashioned, but it is a private CATHOLIC SCHOOL! If you don't like the way that the doctrine is being enforced, there are tons of public schools that won't question what you want to wear to a dance.
Trust me gals, I attended two Divine Child proms, and finding a dress that fits the guidelines is not that hard! The permission slip lays out exactly what is and is not okay, and if you're not sure, there are teachers who are very approachable and readily available that will tell you if it is or not!
In the past, girls attending Divine Child prom that were deemed to be wearing dresses that were not appropriate, or who did not abide by the dress code would be given pieces of fabric at the door to cover what was seen as violating the rules. However, students were reminded of the guidelines over and over again with announcements over the PA, remind messages from the administration, and the permission slip that parents and students had to sign in order to buy prom tickets.
Divine Child is not trying to "shame" the female students for their bodies. They are supporting a dress code that displays who young women are in Christ and in the church, without wearing clothing that unnecessarily exposes students. The school simply wants the beauty that each of their students possesses on the inside to be reflected on the outside, in a manner that promotes their Catholic values not just during prom season, but every day.
