Students should be allowed to wear non-Venice hats

Kylon Wade

At Venice High School there are multiple rules and regulations that students must follow. Most students abide by these school standards but one rule that students should not have to follow is the non-Venice hats policy.
The school policy says that we’re not able to wear any hats that aren’t a Venice hat because it’s a safety issue. Not being able to wear your hat at school is not fair. Venice students love expressing themselves and one way they do that is by the way they dress.

We’re in a different era now. Venice used to have problems with gangs, but now is a much better neighborhood economically and socially than five years ago, and wearing hats with certain colors is not likely to provoke any response from a gang member.
School is supposed to be a diverse environment where kids from all different races can come to learn and express their style. The non-Venice hat policy is taking that away from us.

Having to take off your hat every single time you walk by an administrator can really be an annoyance. Yes, the school does provide Venice hats such as snapbacks, bucket hats, visors, beanies and sweatbands but we shouldn’t be restricted to just those.
Hats can be sentimental to the students and we should have a right to wear any clothing that expresses who we are as individuals, as long as it is not affiliated with gang wear or is inappropriate.

What if someone is having a bad hair day and doesn’t have money to buy a Venice hat? Or what if a student has a particular outfit and adding a Venice hat to it will just ruin the outfit or style.

Our self-expression is being taken away. There can also be insecurities about someone’s hair. So all in all the non-Venice hat policy should be cancelled by the school officials.

Sure, it is a matter of doing the right thing, but that can draw kids away from the school. The parents of students at Venice High will eventually stop sending their kids to the school if they get too many complaints from their children who attend Venice High and of course they wouldn’t just stop sending their kids because of the hat policy though that could be the tip of the iceberg for some parents wanting to take their kids out venice high.