Page 57 - 2018 Yearbook

PRIORY POLITICS
By Betty Chen and Sarah Park
“I think freely dressing would be great if we were at a public school, but Priory is a private school. You made a conscious choice to come to Priory, and you are getting something out of a (presumably) better education here. With part of that better education should be a level of professionalism that comes from dressing moderately.”
“We have to balance our traditions and our values with the progress that is happening right now in the present and the progress we want to see in the future. As of right now, I don’t know if eliminating the dress code as a whole is something that I am looking for. Personally, I would love for that to happen, but I am looking for a dress code that doesn’t target how short girls’ skirts are or target girls’ cleavage. I don’t think there is anything inherently inappropriate about our shoulders; it becomes inappropriate when you sexualize it.”
“In our community, we are fortunate to have proactive voices that engage these larger conversations (#MeToo, etc..)...Our community is a microcosm of the wider world---we are not immune to these issues”
“I’m sure we’d like to think that we wouldn’t be the people to question, if a girl said she was assaulted or harassed. I know of a few students who have been assaulted or harassed, or otherwise had inappropriate interactions with male students. I know for sure that some of those have gone unreported...If someone did something inappropriate, would I feel comfortable taking it to the administration?”
“In terms of trans inclusivity and non-binary folk, Priory is definitely not a hostile place, but obviously it’s got a lot of the same baked-in assumptions. For example, when people speak and say “ladies and gentlemen,” it’s not purposefully unwelcoming to non-binary folk, but I feel that we could all take a moment to reevaluate what gender language we use and whether it’s applicable to everyone within the community.”
“Instead of celebrating our heritage and differences to create a more powerful nation, it seems like all we do is categorize and create a watered down version of each culture.”
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Dress Code #MeToo Diversity