HERMISTON — The first day of the new school year for Hermiston High School came with controversy as teachers and staff stopped 62 students for dress code violations.

One student protested and tried to go to the classroom, but she was directed to the administration. She was wearing a top showing a piercing in her midriff.

The actions at the school prompted seniors Adriana Gutierrez and Piper Snyder to start an online petition to change the code. As of Friday, Dec. 23, the petition has gathered 2,877 digital signatures.

But the enforcement also raised the concerns and hackles of parents, who blasted Hermiston School District administrators and the school board.

“You’re not teaching these kids anything,” one mother told the board. “You’re telling girls to sit down, shut up and be told what to do by males. And that’s just not appropriate.”

Snyder was one of the speakers at that meeting. She said this issue is beyond students wanting to wear a crop-top to school.

“Girls have been publicly shamed, laughed at and taken away from their learning multiple times in the span of two weeks just because of what they chose to wear to school,” she told the board.

Rather than enforcing the dress code, she said, the school is teaching girls they have to be responsible for boys’ actions while not teaching boys they need to respect girls.

Her father, Michael Snyder, is supporting his daughter. He said he thinks the dress code issue comes down to Title IX and equity. Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.

“Hermiston High School offers all students an excellent opportunity to learn,” he said, “however after hearing all the students speak it’s obvious that it’s not the same excellent experience for all. If the opportunity doesn’t match the experience, then we have an issue with equity.”

Hermiston High’s dress code says “responsibility for personal dress and grooming rests primarily with students and their parents. HHS believes that schools are workplaces and must be treated as such.”

Hermiston High School Principal Tom Spoo on Sept. 7 agreed to answer questions via email from the Hermiston Herald. Spoo never replied.

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