Blaike Young Staff Writer There are certainly days when getting up while it’s still dark outside gives me a strong desire to just put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt and leave. However, I’ve always been happy that that’s not an option. But now the school allows students to show up in sweatpants on Fridays. The rule was introduced to bring more school spirit, for people to show up in orange and blue with school pride. I’m all for people representing their school with pride, but isn’t it a better representation of our school if people don’t show up looking like a hot mess? Maybe this is just me, but when I’m wearing pajamas or sweats, even if I just drank four highly caffeinated Venti Starbucks drinks, I’m still a lot more tired than I would be if I was wearing a nicer ensemble that took some effort. Not only does it look outwardly bad for students to consistently show up in baggy sweatpants, it might have some sort of effect on our in class participation and overall education. One junior who preferred to remain anonymous said he thinks the new inclusion of sweatpants “has the potential to look very sloppy.” The very fact the student preferred their name to not appear behind this opinion because they are afraid of the response goes a long way in explaining the unpopularity of this argument.  I know students have long resented the dress code, probably since its creation. But if no one wants to point out the downsides to a dress code that includes sweat pants, I certainly will. This new school mission of getting people to show up in school colors is almost a last ditch effort (along with the free gear), seeing as barely anybody was coming in the colors on Fridays when the rule didn’t include sweatpants as an option. The timing is less than opportune as well, since Latin is really starting to experiment with fashion and we even have the addition of The Street to The Forum. These new spirit days, if anything, are only inspiring laziness, a characteristic Latin definitely does not strive for. Part of school pride is wanting to put your best foot forward to show the greatness of your school, being proud to wear its colors because you’re proud of the education it’s giving you. I would hope this would include having the respect to put some effort into your appearance. If not for school pride, maybe just do it to have your picture taken for The Street? Think about it the next time you choose an outfit.]]>