Ban the School Dress Code

I took particular interest in the article about Agoura High School because I attended Agoura High for four years and watched the once laid-back school turn into a place for hyperactive administrators.

The dress code is their latest “ban.” Frankly, it is ridiculous. Eighteen months ago, Agoura decided to put other “bans” on items that everyday high-schoolers carry. Since when is it a disturbance to drink from a water bottle at lunch, play with a Hackey Sack on lunch break, or wear bandannas in the hair? The school is overreacting to the supposed “gang” that haunts Agoura.

Agoura is a middle- to upper-class neighborhood. I have seen these “gangs,” and they are just a group of kids looking for a place to turn. Instead of punishing them and making them stand out in the neighborhood, why don’t they concentrate on programs to make the change easier?

LESLIE RUTTENBERG

Agoura