Mooney: Dress code protest at HHS is not unusual

By on Tuesday, September 20th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HERMISTON โ€“ Hermiston High School students and parents turned out at last weekโ€™s meeting of the Hermiston Board of Education to protest the dress code that bans bare midriffs. Some students were sent home for violating that code, which Superintendent Tricia Mooney said has been in place for several years, if not decades.

Mooney speculated that after the pandemic put students at home for one school year and was a distraction with mask regulations for the other, it could be that students were simply not aware of the rules.

โ€œItโ€™s refreshing to me that we are having conversations that are impacting kids inside our buildings because that isnโ€™t where we have been,โ€ she said. โ€œThese conversations have been a part of the beginning of the school year with kids for a number of years. We just arenโ€™t used to them because of COVID.โ€

Mooney said in a newsletter sent to families in July, the dress code was spelled out in detail.

โ€œWhen we look at the number of students that we have at Hermiston High School and the number of dress code issues, itโ€™s really not that different from what itโ€™s been every year,โ€ she said.

She said it was pleasing to see the students take the issue up with the school board.

โ€œIโ€™m really proud of our kids that came in and shared their concerns in a situation that Iโ€™m sure was stressful and made them nervous,โ€ she said.