On a Friday after Salah, Dr. Leila and Br. Moneeb announced that next week would be Red Ribbon week, a week dedicated to celebrating drug awareness at BHA (Brighter Horizons Academy). One of the activities featured during this event allowed students to wear sports jerseys to “team up against drugs.” But there was a twist: students could only wear jerseys over their school uniform, a decision that proved to be unpopular. “Why can’t we just wear the jersey itself?” Baheej Hamdi asked when the announcement was made. Others agreed, seeing it as unnecessary and uncomfortable.
This is just one example of BHA’s rules on what one can wear to school. Some people think these policies are unfair, though there are positives to them.
To start off, everyone should know the standard uniforms for elementary, middle, and high school. A couple years back, you were allowed to wear a normal hoodie, any of your choice. Then however, the school decided to design their own school hoodie you can purchase at Verona, making normal hoodies impermissible. As you may already be able to guess, this irritated many, calling it things like a “cash grab.” From then on, people held a negative view of uniform policies at BHA, to the point where they disliked the uniform itself, wishing to have more freedom in what they could wear.
However, as said before, there can be some valid reasons and positives to these policies. One of the main points of a school uniform is to confirm that you’re a part of the school, a student, not just a stranger. Therefore, it makes sense for the school to have its own hoodie, so the staff knows that this is a BHA student. This can also be applied to wearing a jersey on top of your uniform, so that the school can still see your uniform and know you’re a student and not a random person who’s on campus.
Another good reason can be to increase school spirit. Wouldn’t it be a little dull for a school to just have students that all wear their own thing? You may not even be able to tell that they’re a student at a school. That’s why a set uniform creates a sense of unity between the students and the school as a whole. It makes everyone part of the same community, making bonds stronger and promoting the school’s image.
When taking these positives into account, BHA clothing policies aren’t all too bad. Another thing to consider is that occasionally, there are events like Red Ribbon week, where you can wear special clothes or accessories based on the guidelines or theme of the day. These events are fun activities that the students enjoy, where they get to dress differently and enjoy themselves. There was even a time where you could show up in a full business suit! Not only that, but if you’re part of a club, you get to have a sweatshirt/jacket/shirt. A great example can be found in the MIST spirit wear. This has the same effect of the standard BHA uniform, creating a sense of unity within the club and boosting its image.
Overall, there are mixed opinions on what BHA says based on what you can wear on campus, many positive, many negative. On one hand, people prefer to have freedom in what they can wear, but on the other, it is necessary to have a set uniform in order to affirm your status as a student and to boost the school’s morale. There are some good elements however, such as events like Red Ribbon Week, and specialized club uniforms as discussed, which overall can make the experience better.
