This Student's Yearbook Quote Calls Out Her School's Dress Code

If your yearbook quote was a now-regrettable song lyric or maybe a line of poetry that really spoke to your teenage self, it was a missed opportunity. Teen Vogue reports that Tori DiPaolo, a student at West Milford High School in New Jersey, used her quote as an opportunity to show that her school's dress code is an obvious example of a double standard for male and female students.

According to Yahoo, the West Milford dress code states that "halters, half-shirts, shorts, or sweaters and blouses that expose breasts or stomachs" are all forbidden. Additionally, "shorts and skirts should not be a distraction. They should not be above the extended fingertips [...] No article of clothing is permitted that exhibits rips, tears, or holes that causes the clothing to become revealing or suggestive." That's not completely out of the ordinary, but DiPaolo explains that those standards generally don't apply to the male student body.

"The dress code was made for girls and boys, but the only people that ever got dress code violations were girls, so I just found it unfair and sexist," Tori told Teen Vogue. "The general reasoning behind dress codes is that exposing too much is 'distracting,' but in reality, everyone knows shoulders don't distract anyone."

So, DiPaolo used her yearbook quote to call it out. What's more, the wrap that the portrait studio supplied to the students actually violated the dress code, making the whole situation that much more hilarious.

"I'm sorry, did my shoulders distract you from reading this quote?" the line under her photo reads. On Twitter, she added, "Tori: 1. Dress code: 0."

"We shouldn't be missing class due to someone objectifying us," she told Teen Vogue. "While I do think it's important to dress proper, we should all dress how we feel comfortable. If a boy can walk around in a muscle tee and not get in trouble, I should be able to wear a tank top."

The student adds that she thinks that anyone who gets called out for a dress code violation should stand up for themselves in a respectful manner and tell whoever is confronting them why they think that the dress code is unfair. She says that she understands why rules exist, but adds that rights and freedoms shouldn't fall victim to sexism and outdated rules.