Westside High School’s policy regarding wearing hoods during the school day has always been that they are not allowed, due to being a learning distraction and safety concern.  In order to enforce this policy, Westside High School Dean Jordan Rhodes sent out an email reminding students about the rule. According to Rhodes, this email included the consequences students would face if the rule is not followed, along with reasons as to why administration strictly enforces this policy. 

“[The email I sent was] just a reminder to students that [the hoodie rule is] in the code of conduct,” Rhodes said. “There are no new practices [regarding it] that we didn’t [enforce] last year. We’re always going to start with a reminder, and most kids do just fine with that. If there’s multiple reminders then we will take another step, like taking the hoodie up to the office.” 

Rhodes said if a particular student isn’t following expectations with hoodies,  a different approach will be taken.

“If we see the same students constantly having this issue, then it [isn’t] about the hoodie anymore,” Rhodes said. “[Instead, it’s] the fact that we’ve talked about what the expectations are [plenty] of times.”

Rhodes said that safety is the school’s major reason behind this rule. 

“Think about the logic behind it,” Rhodes said. “If someone wants to come into our building and not be recognized, they’re probably going to conceal their identity [with a hoodie]. It really all comes down to safety.”  

Sophomore Elise Smith said that she thinks administration enforcing the rule may target specific student groups and that there could be a better approach to enforcing it.

“I haven’t seen an increase [of students wearing their hoodies], but I do feel like it targets certain students and that the school needs to go about it in a better way,” Smith said.

Smith said that she hopes administration takes action if a student wears any article of clothing that is meant to conceal their identity. 

“I saw a student with their hat on the other day, which is basically the same as a hoodie, and no staff said anything about it,” Smith said. “I think it’s very important for staff to recognize a student’s identity.” 

Senior Anthony Lewis said that he thinks it is very important for administration to be able to recognize student’s faces, especially when fights occur.

“If [something] goes on in our school I feel like they need to know who did it,” Lewis said. “It’s important for them to be able to identify who’s causing chaos.” 

Lewis said that every student should be aware of the hoodie policy, as it has been in place for a very long time.

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Lewis said. “If I keep my hood up I know that I’m going to be told to take it down.”