By Katie Currie and Ryan Greathouse
The RPCS uniform has been a topic of discourse and discussion among both high-school students and faculty in recent months, calling attention to many of the ideas of members of this community. That being said, there are still many opinions on the uniform which have yet to be publicly heard and acknowledged.
One aspect of the uniform that students take issue with is that it must be purchased through the school. Despite polo shirts and navy khaki pants being available at a local Target or other stores, the expectation is for students to buy school-produced items. The only difference between a non-RPCS product and a school store-bought product is the embroidered school name on the sleeve or pant.
RPCS junior, Percy Koontz, explained, “The parts of the uniform that they sell at the school stores like the shirts and all that are very expensive, and I feel like that really makes it really difficult.”
At Target, plain white polo shirts are available for three to ten dollars, not including packs with multiple shirts. Meanwhile, on RPCS’s school store website, polo shirts are listed from prices of twenty-three to thirty dollars individually.
Some students, like Koontz, argue that these prices contribute to a problem with accessibility in the uniform and disadvantage students with less money.
Melissa Carter-Bey, Upper School Dean, shared a similar opinion saying, “The issue, I would say, is that the items in the school store can be more expensive than what people want to spend.”
The used-uniform resale shop, where uniform items that were given back to school by student families are sold at a discounted price, provides a good opportunity to buy less expensive school merchandise and uniforms.
Carter-Bey shared her own experience, as an alum, on this topic “The best way for me to get uniform stuff was through the resale shop because in my mind back then or even my parents mind, why would I want to spend a lot of money on a new skirt when I could just get one, you know, discounted?”.
Despite this beneficial aspect of the used uniform shop, students must purchase items without the option of returning them. Additionally, there are also no available dressing rooms at used uniform sales, so it is much easier to accidentally purchase ill-fitting items.
Although items will be sold again by the school for continued profit, people who donate uniform items to the school do not receive any money in exchange for uniform items, regardless of whatever they initially paid for them.
Furthermore, students argue that used uniform sales are not held frequently enough to be a constant source of affordable uniform items for students. Koontz reflected on this, saying, “Unless you are going to go to a used uniform sale every single time you need to get anything for the uniform, you're gonna encounter high prices, and it's gonna be a while, and it's gonna be hard.”
The last used uniform sales were held on October 16th, August 17th, and February 1st, with no future dates listed on MyRPCS. This forces students like Koontz to wait an indeterminate amount of time for a used uniform sale or to buy full-price products.
The challenges of accessibility are a trend within the uniform, beyond just the realm of prices.
Purchasing uniform items like pants or skirts can be difficult because they are not sold in the school store on campus. In addition, they can be very challenging to find online for purchase.
Sam Desi, co-president of GSA, said, “As for the blue pants, they are only available at Dennis Uniforms online store. It is even hard to find your right size, as you cannot try them on in the store, unlike the traditional skirts. I even have a friend who wished to find blue uniform pants, but as they were sold out, they had to find a lookalike from Amazon”.
Koontz reported that he experienced this himself, saying, “It wasn't until probably 10th grade til I even knew pants were available.”
Finding these uniform items as a student can be incredibly difficult, mainly because the uniform tile on myRPCS does not exist for students, meaning students cannot order these items independently.
Koontz, talking about his personal experience, adds, “It was a bit of a journey, starting from me complaining about having no pant options, to finally figuring out there were pants. And then having to go and find them, because…you can't find them normally”.
Koontz explained that he had to tailor his pants to fit him correctly due to Dennis’ Online Stores’ issues with size. He elaborated on this ordeal, saying, “They were always too long, the waists were either too small or too big; there was no in between. The sizes were not good”.
Carter-Bey discussed the issue of size accessibility as well, adding, “I think we would also have to take into the equation the sizes of things, because I know that everybody is not the same size and shape.”
Many of these accessibility problems revolve around the Khaki pants, which are a more recent addition to the uniform and a good step towards inclusion for Genderqueer students, Muslim students, and the student body as a whole by providing more diverse options for uniform.
Carter-Bey expressed concerns over this issue, contributing that “I don’t know when the pants option started, to be honest with you, but I’m glad that it’s here now for middle school. I don’t even know if it’s here for lower.”
While these pants are a step in the right direction, some think more options could be added to better accommodate for and include expression of personal identity.
Desi, who has been a part of the RPCS community for 11 years, said,“I would change the uniform by adding more pant options. Not only does this offer a more diverse uniform option but allows gender non-conforming and trans students in our community an opportunity to feel more comfortable in the clothing that they are required to wear five days a week.”
Carter-Bey reiterated this same opinion, saying, “ I think the main thing for me is that you want students to be comfortable in what they're wearing, because you want to be able to create an environment in the classroom where kids are learning and not worrying about what they're wearing.” She also added that “They're the ones wearing the uniform, so, sure there is a history to it, but I also feel like there would be flexibility, as far as if students were looking to change things.”
According to Desi, “The first step in heading in the right direction is more diverse uniform options for students who wish to express themselves.”
As RPCS grows as a community, the pants give students an additional option, but more improvements and changes can be made to make students feel more comfortable in their uniform and school environment.
Ideas about discussing the accessibility and comfort of students in uniform were well received by Carter-Bey, who said, “It's important for students to have access to the uniform, it's important for all students, regardless of financial situations, to be able to have access to uniforms. So, I would hope if there was a situation where a student needed help, then we could obviously help them, and that everyone can come to school kind of wearing the same thing, to kind of feel that sense of community.”
The RPCS uniform committee that will be held after Spring break is one way that Carter-Bey suggests that students can share thoughts and opinions on uniforms. She emphasized the importance of student voices on the uniform, saying, “ I would love to have student volunteers for spring break to see where students are, because obviously it's important because, like I said, the students are wearing the uniforms.”
Students who desire change in, or a conversation about, the uniform in regards to price, fit, accessibility, options, or other topics are encouraged to join and participate in the ongoing discussions about the school uniform.
Carter-Bey said on the purpose of uniform that “The goal in mind is pride in your school, and feeling like part of the community.”
She elaborates on this concept, explaining, “We all come to school dressed the same...I think there's some things we wanted to keep so kids didn't have to worry every single day, ‘What do I have to wear?’ and ‘Do I have to dress up?’, or ‘How expensive do I need to look?...The purpose of that is to put everyone on the same playing field as far as what they come into school wearing, and then, there’s also some people who love their school, and love to take pride in their uniform… I think there's part of that too.”
Although students may feel as if the uniform is lacking in certain fields, working together with faculty and the school to agree on a better uniform that exemplifies the goals of equality, broad accessibility, and community building has the potential to help the RPCS community as a whole.
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