Superintendent Defends Dress Code Crackdown at High School Dance

Responding to complaints that dress code inspections at a recent Capistrano Valley High dance bordered on sexual harassment, the school district superintendent said he found nothing inappropriate about the crackdown.

Earlier this month, a firestorm erupted after several dozen girls—including a school board member's daughter—were barred from the winter formal for several hours after being subjected to wardrobe checks some called "degrading."

Adding fuel to the debate was a first-person opinion piece written by Capistrano Valley High senior Lindsay Kamikawa in the school newspaper. After Patch covered the controversy, school officials even received a death threat.

"Anyone in favor of dress codes and 'slut-shaming' is my mortal enemy and I am going to come kill you," said one email.

But Capistrano Unified Superintendent Joseph Farley said the school newspaper didn't accurately portray “what really took place" at the dance.

“After hearing a lengthy report on the who, what and why of the dance, and the dress code matter, I don’t believe that anything inappropriate took place,” Farley said in a note to Sharon Campbell, former president of the Capo Valley High School Foundation.

Capo Valley High School’s dress code isn't out of step with the five other comprehensive high schools in Capo Unified. For instance, all but Aliso Niguel and San Juan Hills High also ban strapless dresses. And all prohibit exposed midriffs, extremely low-cut dresses in the front or back, and bandeau-type tops.

Kamikawa’s opinion piece objected more to how the code was enforced than to the rules themselves. Girls suspected of violations were pulled aside at the door, then made to strut, turn around and raise their arms several times, often in front of male administrators. Those who didn't pass inspection were barred from the dance for several hours, although most were later admitted after agreeing to Saturday detention.

(To see photos of some of the outfits deemed unacceptable, click here.)

Parents Complain

Even before Kamikawa's essay, about half a dozen parents emailed Capo Valley Principal Kevin Astor, demanding apologies and refunds.

Among them was Board of Education Trustee Lynn Hatton, whose daughter waited outside the Nixon Presidential Library while most of her fellow students danced the night away.

Writing the day after the dance, Hatton said her daughter, who “does not even own a pair of short shorts," wore "an appropriate dress that was longer than several of the girls in their group who were let in."

Hatton said her daughter waited two hours before phoning home because she was “mortified about the situation.” When she finally did call, she was in tears.

Another letter described a granddaughter having a full-on panic attack, especially after Astor reportedly told her in front of others, “Not all dresses look good on certain body shapes.” According to the letter, another teacher pointed at the granddaughter and said loudly, “What mother would allow her daughter to wear a dress like that?”

But another staffer complimented her dress.

“So much inconsistency with the staff,” the grandmother wrote.

School board member Hatton agreed. Interviewed by Patch on Wednesday, she said the code was unevenly enforced from one school official to the next: "The problem was with consistency."

Hatton added that she's personally "not a fan" of dress codes, but does believe in following the rules -- which she believe her daughter's dress did.

Likewise, many of the parents who complained said they were fully aware of the dress code and shopped with it in mind.

“We measured carefully before we purchased the dress,” wrote one mom whose daughter was told her dress was too short.

Astor invited complaining parents to submit pictures of their teens in the outfits worn that night. One parent refused.

“I am not willing to send you a photo of my daughter in her dress for you to look at and evaluate again,” the parent wrote. “I feel that is an inappropriate request. I reviewed the dress code and there is not one thing that was even close.”

Not every letter objected to the school's dress-code enforcement at the dance. Two parents of boys thanked the principal.

Messages from Patch seeking comment from Astor and Superintendent Farley weren't returned.

What Will Happen at Prom?

Last week, Kamikawa and several other girls who were offended by their treatment at the dance were invited to help clarify the school's dress code. They met with the Parent-Teacher-Student Association, student government representatives and school administrators, Kamikawa said.

Astor attended the first five minutes of the meeting, Kamikawa added.

"We were asked to come up with clearer language, not a new dress code," she said. "They found us, the victims, and asked us to find language to enforce the dress code. I think that's their job and their responsibility."

After the girls unanimously opposed the restriction on "tight" dresses, a major source of contention at the dance, Kamikawa said, "There's some possibility the code will change, but it hasn't been announced yet."

The school's prom is set for June 1. Kamikawa said she won't be attending, but if she were, she'd choose "a very conservative dress."

-- Patch staff writer Peter Schelden contributed to this story.