Move over, Florida Man.
Take a seat for a moment, Florida Woman.
It’s time to make room in the ridiculous news for… Florida School!
In a decision that has made it the target of ire across the Internet, Stanton College Preparatory School in Jacksonville decided this year to institute a dress code for its senior prom.
By itself, this wasn’t a big deal.
Dress codes are not uncommon at private schools across the country.
But administrators also thought it would be a good idea last week to put hallway fliers up that instructed female students on what sort of dresses would and would not be acceptable at the dance.
Each poster asked the question “Going to Stanton Prom?” above a different gown with various levels of skin exposure.
Photos of the more revealing dresses then answered this question with the statement “NO YOU’RE NOT” written under them.
Under the one dress deemed properly conservative by those in charge?
“YES YOU ARE. GOOD GIRL.”
And that’s mostly where the school went way wrong here.
Demanding that students adhere to a certain dress code? Fine. Whatever. It’s been done before.
But to talk to a female as if she’s a dog (You’re a good girl, yes you are!) and to insinuate that someone who wears a dress with a low back is a “bad girl?”
What the heck was the school thinking?!?
As you might expect, social media reaction to these posters was swift and harsh.
To wit:
In addition to writing messages such as this and voicing their disgust online, students wore purple and white to school on Tuesday in protest of the flyers.
They used the hashtag “#scpgoodgirl” to build support for their cause.
And, fortunately, is actually worked!
Forced to confront its insensitive handling of the dress code, the administration issued the following statement:
The display of prom dress photos pertaining to recommended attire at Stanton College Preparatory School is not an approved policy by the school or Duval County Public Schools. The displayed images were immediately removed by school leadership on Monday.
Both students and staff have been informed this was not acceptable or appropriate guidance for prom dress attire.
Action News Jax even reports the principal apologized to students, directly.
“Please do accept my apology for this poor delivery of information,” he said. “Our intent is to make sure prom is enjoyable and memorable.”
Stanton College Preparatory High School’s Gender-Sexuality Alliance Tweeted (below) about the positive result on Tuesday and included an important message for all to learn from on its account.
“We must all stand in solidarity against sexism, racism, homophobia, Islamaphobia and all forms of ignorance, hate, and/or fear, no matter how big or small the faith appears to be.”
What happened today, the group wrote on reference to the school’s apology, was “incredible.”
We concur!
We wish such coming-together by the student body and others associated with the school wasn’t necessary in the first place.
But we’re inspired by the efforts made on behalf of a worthwhile cause by these upstanding young people.
