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Northwest Side Students Say Goodbye to Uniform Dress Code ... For Now

By Heather Cherone | September 2, 2014 2:33pm
  Students will get a chance to make their case against the dress code at a town hall meeting on Sept. 11.
Taft Students Cheer End to Uniform
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NORWOOD PARK — Teens streaming into Taft High School painted a colorful picture Tuesday morning, as students were allowed wear whatever they wanted to class for the first time in decades.

Principal Mark Grishaber suspended the uniform dress code for the first two weeks of class after he said he was barraged with complaints about the policy, which was deeply unpopular with students

Heather Cherone said most of the students were excited to wear whatever they wanted, for now:

Ally Abbinanti, 16, said she was surprised and excited that the policy had been changed.

"It really restricted our freedom of expression," Abbinanti said, as she waited with her twin sister, Lexy, for school to start.

 Josiah Vestal, 16, and Eddy Garcia, 18, celebrate the end of Taft's decadeslong policy.
Josiah Vestal, 16, and Eddy Garcia, 18, celebrate the end of Taft's decadeslong policy.
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DNAinfo/Heather Cherone

During the first two weeks of school, Taft students will not have to wear the white, collared shirt and blue or black pants or jeans that have been required since the mid-1990s, Grishaber said. 

Instead, students should wear "dark" pants — without holes or tears — and T-shirts of any color as long as they are not sleeveless. Girls may wear dresses or skirts, as long as they reach past their knees.

Yulissa Renteria, 16, said it took her a little while to decide what to wear, finally settling on dark blue jeans, a black tank top and a patterned vest.

"It will let people be who they want to be," said Renteria, who has worn uniforms to school every day since she was in first grade.

Renteria dismissed concerns that the lack of uniforms would disrupt class.

"It is just an outfit," Renteria said.

If students can make their case to a panel of judges during a town hall meeting scheduled to take place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Sept. 11 in the the school's auditorium, 6530 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Grishaber has promised to permanently drop the uniform code.

While Erica Saucedo, 16, a junior, said she was glad the uniform requirement was gone, but acknowledged that it made getting ready for school easier.

"I sort of missed my uniform," Saucedo said, laughing.

The lack of uniforms wasn't the only change at Taft. It was also Grishaber's first day as principal, and many students got their first look at the results of a $17 million renovation that overhauled nine science labs, patched crumbling brick, repaired water damage and replaced the school's 2,300 lockers — many of which were in use when the school opened its doors 75 years ago.

As students approached the school's doors and waited to file through metal detectors, they caught sight of perhaps the most visible change — two-thirds of the school's 1,100 windows, many of which were clouded with age and impossible to see through, have been replaced. The rest will be replaced by November, officials said.

"You can see through them!" one girl exclaimed, pointing at the windows before being swept through the front doors by the crowd.

Eddy Garcia, 18, a senior, said he was tired of students in selective enrollment high schools looking down on students at Taft, which is a neighborhood high school.

"I think with the renovations, we'll be a better school," Garcia said.

For more Northwest Side news from Heather Cherone, listen here: