Girls' skirts must be no shorter than one inch above the knee; make‑up must not be over‑done.

Boys cannot wear sideburns below mid‑ear or wear blue jeans.

Sounds unbelievable, but little more than three years ago this was an acceptable and fashionable dress code. Styles change, however, and so does the dress code of Maine West. Each year Student Council discusses the changing trends in fashion and accordingly revises the dress guidelines with the approval of the administrative staff. This year the procedure resulted in a completely revised code.

This new dress code went into effect on Monday, January 5, and was liberalized greatly. The guidelines state that although the student's dress is mainly the responsibility of the student and his parents, he must be protectively covered; he must be clean; and his appearance must not disrupt the classroom.

Compare these guidelines to those in the past years and the differences that can be found are amazing. Although some students were satisfied with the last dress code, there were many who were not.

Changing the dress code however was no simple task. It was learned that nothing could be undertaken in only one Maine school. Because it was a district matter, the dress code had to be dealt with on a district level. The three Student Council presidents met and decided on a course of action. They requested Dr. Richard Short to consider polling the student bodies of the three schools on the matter. During Student Council this idea was discussed, and the poll was enlarged to include parents and teachers. The poll consisted of a list of specific items such as: hair, sideburns, sweatshirts, slacks, etc. Then each pollee expressed his opinions.

This process took time, and the poll slowed down for various reasons. On December 11 the Student Council presidents met with Dr. Short and proposed that the opinion poll be rejected after considering the time, money, and effort involved. Dr. Short agreed to an alternate course of action. This was to revise the dress code completely.

The presidents and secretaries of the three Student Councils wrote an entirely new dress code which was finally sent to the school board and the school attorney after much discussion and many conferences. Over the vacation the proposed code was approved by Dr. Short, and it was put into effect upon the student's return to school.