Why does Robinson feel the need to be one of only high schools in Hillsborough County to have such a strict dress code at football games? Is Robinson scared of the bad reputation the school might earn if girls dress too provocatively and student get too wild? But Friday nights are the one day out of the week that we are able to come together as a school and show our school spirit for our football team.

Many students believe that Robinson doesn’t have a lot of school spirit, so restricting us from being able to paint up as a way to show support to our team does not help. Other schools around county that are known for having high levels of school spirit do not enforce such a strict dress code at football games.

Students at Jesuit, an all boy school’s school, are allowed to paint their entire bodies without any consequences, as are students at Plant high school. Girls at Plant can wear sports bras with paint on their stomachs. Both schools allow their students to show team spirit anyway they can, and both school’s football games all well-attended and energetic.

Additionally, the school needs to take into consideration that we live in Florida and football games take place outside in the late summer and early fall. When they go to football games, students are going to want to wear shorts and tank tops and not have to worry about being dress coded.

Sometimes, the way dress code is enforced at games can show a double standard for female students. Two years ago a female student was not let into a football game because her shorts were “too short”.  A male student switched clothes with her and was allowed into the game wearing those same shorts. Is the way girls dress really such a big distraction that it would disrupt an entire football game?

Our school should be able to have trust in us. They should trust that we can cheer on our team without things getting out of hand. Friday night games were meant for to show team spirit not to fear harassment and a bad reputation.