Our Democracy

Should costumes be allowed in school? Who should be allowed to make that decision?

By Nico C. from Eureka High School in California

How long have people been allowed to wear costumes to school? On an average day, a costume like those in the photo would often get you sent to the office for dress code violations. But why is it ok on Halloween but not the average Monday? And who should be able to decide which costumes are acceptable and not? And who should be able to decide what is allowed at school on an average day?


 As of now, the dress code is written by the district and the parents. Their argument is that students don't know how the way they dress may affect someone else. Arguments like "it's too distracting for other students." But students argue that we should hold the power to decide. If the dress code affects us the most shouldn't we get the most say on what we and our peers deem acceptable. Students have found a way to have a voice in their dress code through protest. The most recent dress code update came in 2021 for eureka high school when many students petitioned to have the outdated code to be changed in favor of the modern-day standards. 

Eureka High School

Soph Honors, 1st Period

Sophomore Honors English

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Our Democracy

The Our Democracy Education Project is a partnership with the National Writing Project and PhotoWings. PhotoWings' mission is to help photography to be better understood, created, utilized, seen, and saved. The project is also supported by the National Geographic Society and Catchlight, and explores the question, “What does democracy look like?” through the creation of a multimedia record of the state of local, everyday democracy today.