Following the start of the new school year at Bishop Manogue Catholic High School, deans Sarah Haberlin-Cope and Teresa Burrows stirred controversy with the enactment of several big changes to the student handbook. These changes surround dress code, tardies, and honor code, and many of these changes were met with resistance from the student body.
Arguably the two most talked-about changes to the dress code this year are: students are no longer allowed to wear sweatpants at any time, including spirit days, and homecoming dresses (traditionally mid-thigh length) now must be ankle to floor length. Many students accepted these changes with open minds, but a vast majority of students were extremely upset about these changes. In an interview with Mrs. Haberlin-Cope, several of these qualms were addressed and solved. In asking her why sweatpants are now banned – a question many students didn’t know or understand the answer to – she provided a comprehensive and thoughtful answer. “We implemented the sweatpants appearance code because students took advantage of the Friday sweatpants and instead wore sweatpants every day,” Haberlin – Cope began, “This contributed to an unprofessional look among our student body, so we took away the sweatpants option. Sweatpants are loungewear, meant for downtime; loungewear is inappropriate for a school setting.” Also, when interviewed, Mrs. Haberlin – Cope responded to the negative reaction to the homecoming dress change. Students were informed of this change through an email from the Weekly Wire, and immediately were upset. Several students have emailed the deans asking to change the rules, created petitions, or even threatened to make their own venue of homecoming where students can wear short dresses. Haberlin – Cope commented on the reaction thoughtfully again, saying: “We had hoped that the opportunity to reflect a formal dance code, since homecoming is one of only two formal dances, would be a welcome change to our students; something that would set us apart from other schools. We are considering options that would satisfy all parties.”
Another new change to the student handbook is that now, instead of a warning after 3 tardies, students receive a warning after 6 tardies. Some parents and students had assumed that the change was made to combat an epidemic of tardiness, but Haberlin – Cope sets these assumptions to rest with a much simpler answer to the change in policy. “The six tardies rule was actually enacted to help students; there are now more opportunities to learn from being tardy before a detention is assigned.” Haberlin – Cope optimistically begins, “We have also changed our routines in the parking lot, to help encourage student timeliness to class.”
With the rise of AI-assisted cheating, the deans of Bishop Manogue have also added a new section of the honor code regarding unauthorized use of AI. “A line about AI was added to our academic dishonesty policy, which is what the Honor Code is meant to represent.” Haberlin – Cope went on to say that AI is only okay to use when it is authorized by a teacher: “As a school we think it important for students to think creatively and originally, and that there is room to learn to use AI generated content with teacher guidance. However, unauthorized AI content is a violation of the honor code and will be treated as such.”
Despite the thoughtful answers from our deans about why these changes were made, students still are upset. Students have taken to petitions, talking to the deans, and emails to the deans to make their voices heard. Some students paint the deans as “not listening” or “ignoring” their worries, but Mrs. Haberlin – Cope remarks that admin’s stance is quite the opposite. “The Dean’s Office is always open for students to share their opinions and express themselves appropriately. We never make changes lightly, and always seriously consider them before enacting something new. We are open to student feedback to inform our decision making process, even if no change results.”
