NDB adopted a stricter uniform policy after more relaxed policies due to COVID-19. It is said in the school handbook that skirts must be “no more than five inches above the back of the knee,” polos are to be worn 3 days a week, and students are not allowed to wear attire for a sport they are no longer participating in. With a stricter uniform policy at school, students find it harder to express their personality through their clothing. NDB understands the conservative uniform guidelines pertaining to a Catholic school, but this year, administration has become a lot less lenient than previous years.

With skirt length regulations becoming more rigid, this leaves students who had already altered their skirts with questions. Some students, like myself, previously altered their skirts because they were too big, making the skirt length shorter in the process. Certain students’ skirts are not rolled, but rather altered to fit better, so they cannot control how short it is. Demanding that students buy another skirt and get it realtered, which is not only inconvenient at this point in the school year, but also a costly process, is simply unfair.

Especially with the heat wave that occurred during the week of September 5th, wearing a polo for most of the week felt suffocating and hindered our focus under hot conditions. Another challenging aspect of wearing polos is the fact that students must now change in between school and practice, as they are no longer able to wear athletic practice shirts to school. As a result, bathrooms are packed after school, and athletes are struggling to get to practice on time. This is especially more difficult for athletes who attend sports practices at an off-campus facility.

The “staffulty” also set ground rules in regards to students’ access to belongings. Students are not allowed to access the parking lot during school hours, or use their cars as lockers during the day. This can be a difficult transition for student drivers to adjust to, especially since the rules the last few years have been relaxed and did not limit students from accessing their belongings in this way. “For sports, we sometimes have games right after school and we have to get ready and change during collaboration. Not being able to access our cars before we have to leave for the game means we’ll have to carry our sports bags with us all day,” says senior Kayla Hollister. She still agrees with the majority of the rule’s implications, and says, “I think the rule makes a lot of sense in general, but I also think that exceptions for things like games and rallies would make sense, too.”

Although students at NDB will gradually be able to adjust to these new policies, it is a difficult transition for students that administration must be able to understand. Due to the previous years’ leniency, students are still adjusting to the new, higher expectations for them. Just like any new regulations, they will take some time for them to be followed as well as accepted, and the staffulty should understand student’s struggles with the updated policies when enforcing stricter guidelines.