By Chloee Toro ’18
Starting next school year, all students at Pritzker, the only Noble campus so far, will transition from beige khakis into black khakis/dress pants. Thanks to juniors Nadia Segura, Priscila Bautista and senior Alva Chavez, who were supported by PE teacher Sarah Cross and Journalism teacher Katie Curtin, the school dress code was changed to better student situations at school.
Pam Johnson, Dean of Culture, announced during lunch yesterday that Oct. 31 will be the official day sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be required to wear black pants. Up until then, they may choose between either their beige khakis or black pants. Incoming freshmen, however, will be required to wear black pants starting on their first day of school.
Segura mentioned with a bunch of excitement, “It feels great to know that hard work pays off! This is a huge change for the school, and it is incredible to believe that the hard work of a few teachers and students can go such a long way.” Sophomore Ruben Soberanis stated that when the announcement was first made, he didn’t feel as excited, but he was happy to see that changes were being made to help impact student lives at school.
Some people believe that the transition will be hard. Bryanna Delgado, a junior, believes the transition will be hard because, to her, some people might reuse their pants from the previous year if they still fit. Delgado worries that looking for new dress pants might cost some extra money. Delgado is also concerned that since students are allowed to wear gold shirts, she feels that the black and gold combination closely resembles gang colors. However, due to the concern with gang colors, starting next year, the school will no longer sell gray or gold shirts.
Parents want their children to go to a school that makes them feel comfortable, which is why Pritzker making this change will show parents they made the right choice by letting their children attend Pritzker. Bautista shared a personal moment about her mother’s excitement and stated, “I know my mom was definitely excited, so I’m sure other mothers would be too since progress for some girls is progress for all girls.”
Now, it may seem that the only people who will benefit from this change are girls; however, Chavez stated, “I feel like this change will benefit everyone. Although the main cause was the issue of periods [causing girls to bleed through their pants], beige khakis are very easily stained [from other issues], so [black pants] will help diminish the visibility of stains.”
Young men, in particular, may feel like the change isn’t needed because they are not affected by the same battles young women are going through. Soberanis stated, “I have never had an issue where my pants have gotten messed up and left me to feel embarrassed, but I am sure that other guys have gone through this issue and appreciate the change.” Bautista stated, “Some [young men] will be upset that they have to make the change for ‘no reason’; however, they should also be happy that this change is helping their friends or girlfriends.”
Segura stated that in a survey she, Bautista, and Chavez sent out, only 42% of students can wash clothes at home; 58% do not have washers at home. This shows that the new colored pants will leave less stress of having to sit at the laundromat washing school pants to get the food, ink, or any other stains off pants.
Segura left off with a message to the students of Pritzker. She said, “There is still more work to do and more changes to be made at Pritzker. However, I cannot do it alone. I would love for students to try to solve problems they find at school, even if these changes seem to be impossible. The most important thing is to advocate!!” If you are wondering what the new requirements are, here you go!
- Solid-colored black dress pants or skirts
- Black khaki pants or skirts
- Pants must go to at least the ankles; skirts must go to at least the knees
- Both skirts and pants must have belt loops
- Only pants with “internal” back pockets or no back pockets are permitted; pockets may not be attached to the exterior.
For more on this change, check out senior Alva Chavez’ opinion piece advocating for the switch to black pants originally published on as well as the feature published on on junior Nadia Segura’s efforts at school around reducing the stigma of periods.
