As New Dress Code Takes Effect, Confusion Sets In Among Capuchino High Students

A few days into the new school year, one new policy is on the mind of every student and faculty member at Capuchino High School: the dress code.

A large point of contention has been the the school administration recently implemented. The new set of rules, added to the dress code that is already in place, has confused several students and caused them to question just how effective it will be.

So San Bruno Patch recently talked to Margarita Navarro, assistant principal in charge of administrative services and student discipline, about the policy. She said that she has already seen encouraging progress with the strengthened dress code and hopes that, within the next few weeks, every student will have a strong understanding of exactly what is and what is not acceptable.

“We’ve always had a dress code,” Navarro said. “In fact, it’s a district dress code that we follow. So what we did is highlighted a few things and are actually trying to reeducate our entire community of what is in our existing dress code.”

The newly revised dress code has placed a significant emphasis on the elimination of red and blue clothing and accessories, as well as baggy and oversized clothing. As an enlightened alternative, the school is encouraging students to wear Capuchino paraphernalia as well as college gear.

Navarro said that within just the first two days of instruction, the amount of Capuchino and college wear worn by students had increased tremendously from last year.

One apparent point of confusion, however, has been whether college clothing that may be red or blue is OK—an example being a red Stanford University sweater. Navarro said that would be acceptable.

“The message there is even though it’s red, it’s promoting higher education,” Navarro explained. “Those are the messages the kids are having a bit of difficulty with.”

Still, a number of students still question the purpose of the revised dress code in the first place.

Some believe Capuchino has unfairly garnered the perception of being a “rough” or “ghetto” school, so a majority of students believe the dress code is a response to the existence of possible gang activity at the school.

Consequently, students have deemed the dress code as an improper response to an issue that, in their eyes, is not really prevalent.

In response, Navarro said the purpose of eliminating red or blue clothing in the dress code is a response to gang activity but that the rule is only a microcosm of what the new policy actually represents.

“Our purpose is to prepare kids for college and their careers,” Navarro added. “Part of that is your personal appearance and presentation, and how are we preparing kids to do that? We’ve taken it upon ourselves to think about ways we can prepare kids for that.”

Navarro said that she does not believe Capuchino has gang issues but that gang issues obviously exist in some students’ communities. The purpose of eliminating red and blue clothing is to make sure none of those influences reach the Capuchino campus.

“Kids are starting to think about it and what it means to them,” Navarro said of the dress code.” We’ve noticed it because just in a few days, some of the students that we’ve talked to have made different choices.”

“It’s not about targeting, it’s not about pinpointing,” she added. “We don’t want to make an example of anyone.”

There have also been questions about what exactly the punishment will be for breaking the dress code. Navarro said that confiscating clothes might serve as one consequence, but she added that the school’s administration is not looking to severely punish any students.

According to Navarro, the dress code is more aimed toward education for the students’ futures, not toward the threat of consequences.

“Are kids going to get detention? No. Are kids going to get suspended? No. It’s not about that," she said. "It’s about helping them understand what the policy is and helping them make that decision.”

The initial weeks of school, Navarro said, will be focused on implementation of the new policy rather than correction. Navarro said that she has already had to pull aside a few students and inform them that what they were wearing was not acceptable under the new code.

The task is difficult, but Navarro feels it to be necessary.

“It’s hard,” Navarro said. “We’re in the trenches of it right now and a lot of people are still confused. We’re just trying to do our best to clarify and all send the same message.”