What Not to Wear II: Student input leads to dress code change at NR-S

Student government is alive and well at New Rockford-Sheyenne.

In recent months, the New Rockford-Sheyenne School Board has been considering significant changes to the district's dress code, and a decision was finally made at a recent board meeting.

The debate began in February, when Student Representative Amzi Meier, who presents a "student report" at regular monthly meetings, told the NR-S board he'd recently conducted his own student survey.

"I knew that students had grievances against school board policy and different rules, and I didn't feel like they really had a voice," explained Meier on his reasoning for the survey, "and so I wanted to allow them to have one through me."

Meier told the board that, according to the feedback, students are curious why hats are only allowed on Fridays, prompting a brief discussion on whether or not it's still disrespectful to wear hats in school.

Board member Alyson Myhre called the rule "kind of archaic." Meier agreed, and described it as a "cultural issue" no longer relevant in today's world.

After being encouraged by the board and NR-S Superintendent Jill Louters to get the issue on the next meeting's agenda for March, Meier set to work gathering even more feedback.

He conducted two new surveys: one for students and one for faculty. And with the help of Louters, he had every class from 7th through 12th grade elect two representatives to participate in discussions about the dress code.

With new feedback, Meier drafted a dress code proposal in consultation with school administrators. But when Meier presented his draft proposal at the next meeting, he was met with far more skeptical opinions.

The suggestions he'd gathered from students included far more drastic changes to the dress code - such as allowing students to wear spaghetti-strap tops, fishnet material, strapless tops, and more.

As it was his duty to represent students, he presented these suggestions to the board as "changes considered," whether he agreed with them or not. And as expected, the board rejected any such changes without hesitation.

For the first time, they also expressed skepticism towards changing the hat policy.

Board member Patti Larson shared her concern that kids might use the hats to hide their eyes while texting, and others argued it's still respectful to remove hats while attending class.

Afterwards, Meier held a student meeting with class representatives to explain the board's position, and the decision was made to focus on the hat policy rather than undertaking a likely futile effort to make wholesale changes to the dress code.

"I kind of explained that, because of the community we live in, which is very right-leaning and more conservative, even if the students have a point that it wouldn't be as big of a deal as it's made out to be, it's still the community's decision and respecting community values is ultimately what the board is trying to do and should be doing," said Meier.

In the weeks and months that followed, Meier worked closely with administrators to address their concerns and nail down new language for the dress code.

At board meetings, meanwhile, he continued to make the point that wearing hats is no longer the sign of disrespect it once was.

At the April meeting, High School Principal Avolt Baumbach aided that argument when he pointed out that two board members were currently wearing hats, even as discussion was underway about the respectfulness of removing headwear.

Two months later, on June 20, the board unanimously voted in favor of a second reading of Policy FFH, the new dress code that allows students to wear hats, while also giving administrators the authority to disallow headwear "when the appearance disrupts classes or school activities."

Meier believes his success is proof that even students can make an impact if they have the necessary ambition, work ethic and the ear of administrators and a school board willing to listen.

"I'd like to thank the administrators and the board," said Meier. "Dr. Louters was a big help. She really kind of nurtured me along I guess you could say, and helped push me in the right direction."

He added that principals Avolt Baumbach and Natalie Becker were very easy to work with, and that he appreciated working with the school board.

"They were open to my ideas and very polite and nice," he said, "and they took me seriously pretty much from the get go, so I appreciate that."

As for Meier himself, he recently graduated last May and he's not entirely sure what his future holds. He said he has plenty of avenues open to him - such as real estate or farming - and he's even considered a career in politics.

"It's a lot more complicated than just right versus left," said Meier as he reflected on lessons learned from this experience. "The middle ground may be hard to find, but it's not black and white, you have to meet in the middle.

"If all you ever do is fight for one side you're never going to get anywhere, you're just going to waste time."