The belief that public schools should enforce strict dress codes has been the subject of many controversial and heated debates throughout history. While it is rare for public schools to require uniforms, every school has some type of dress code. Elizabeth Forward High School in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, is no different than the rest of the nation. If caught violating the dress code, some teachers will choose to ignore it, while others will send the student to the high school office. If sent to the office, students are penalized with a day of in-school suspension instead of being able to ask for a change of clothes. At first glance, the ban on tank tops, jeans with holes above the knee, and shorts and skirts shorter than fingertip length, among many other guidelines, seems reasonable, but upon further reconsideration, it is clear that the code of clothing at Elizabeth Forward High The school is ridiculous and hypocritical. I think Elizabeth Forward High School should rescind the harsh policies due to the temperature fluctuations in the building throughout the school year, recent trends among teens, and the hypocrisy associated with the dress code. Elizabeth Forward High School is located atop a hill with very little shade, leaving it vulnerable to heat in the summer months and freezing temperatures in the winter months. The school's brick construction traps heat in the summer, and poor air circulation and air conditioning units limited to computer rooms and administrative offices make it difficult to cool the building. Unfortunately, one of Elizabeth Forward's strictest policies prohibits students from wearing tank tops; students must wear some type of sweater that covers their shoulders if… middle of paper… the level of hypocrisy within the dress code would begin to decrease. Many think that a stronger dress code will help students concentrate in school, but how a student dresses does not determine his or her willingness to learn or the teacher's ability to hold his or her attention. Furthermore, adults argue that high school is a teenager's job; therefore, they should dress professionally. However, Elizabeth Forward does not have a policy against sweatpants, sweatshirts or activewear, which are much less professional than tank tops or destroyed denim. I think dress code policies should be relaxed to a more lenient level given the temperature of the building throughout the school year, the change in long-term trends among teens, and the level of hypocrisy demonstrated between the relationship between school administration and dress code policy.