The student news publication of Libertyville High School

Drops of Ink

The student news publication of Libertyville High School

Drops of Ink

The student news publication of Libertyville High School

Drops of Ink

Boys volleyball fights hard against Glenbrook South Titans
Badminton gives their all on the courts against Glenbrook North
Girls lacrosse endures a hard fight against Lockport

Staff Editorial- Seniors: They’ve Done Their Time.

Clean shirt censored due to handcuff graphic.
Courtesy of Custom Ink
Clean shirt censored due to handcuff graphic.

Background:

Senior year: the time when LHS students have achieved the final level in their high school career. They have conquered the monstrous standardized tests, battled numerous AP exams, and fought long and hard during the sleepless nights. Yet, at the beginning of this school year, seniors seemed to have to face down one last challenge: the LHS administration.

According to an over-ten-year-standing LHS tradition, the senior class annually designs a class shirt to symbolize their grade’s rite of passage. These shirts have often included some sort of  inappropriate innuendo, yet each year, the administration seems to be cracking down harder and harder on the innuendos displayed on these shirts.

This year, it was made clear to participants in a majority of extracurricular activities at LHS that if they wore a shirt that was deemed “dirty” or “inappropriate,” their membership in those extracurriculars would be stripped. To try to allow every senior to participate in the first day of school shirt tradition, the senior class of 2016 designed one “dirty” shirt and one “clean” shirt, with similar themes.

The shirts were made with a similar design to unite the seniors despite having a “clean” and “dirty” version.  Both shirts displayed an image of handcuffs to coincide with the prison theme that was selected.  While the “dirty” shirt involved a sexual innuendo, the clean shirt strictly followed the prison theme to abide by the administration’s wishes.

According to the senior organizers of the two shirts, James He, Brook Zant, Nicole Axe, and Luke Miller,  the clean shirt was shown to and approved by Student Council advisor Ms. Andrea Lara and Student Activities Director Mrs. Jennifer Uliks way ahead of time, yet the two shirts were only shown to principal Dr. Marina Scott about 15 minutes before the first day of school. Since Dr. Scott only had a small amount of notice, she deemed both shirts as inappropriate to take the burden off of teachers; she confirmed this in an email to a Drops of Ink staff member. This means that on the first day of school, the people wearing the black, dirty shirts had to turn their shirts inside out, and the people wearing the clean shirt were unable to wear their shirts due to the fact that when the shirts were turned inside out, the handcuffs displayed on the front of the shirt were still visible through the orange fabric.

 

Administration’s Actions:

 

It is the opinion of the majority of the Drops of Ink staff that the school undermined the efforts of the senior class to create a clean shirt that would allow everyone to participate in first-day traditions. Through their actions, the administration may have discouraged future grades from attempts to appease the standards set out by the administration.

Many felt that it was ironic that the students trying hardest to follow the rules were the ones who were punished the most. If the school wants future senior grades to be mature about their selection of shirts, then the school also needs to be considerate of the hard work that is put into the creation of the senior shirts.

The senior class this year was overall relatively docile in their first day of school antics compared to previous grades. They abided by the school’s wishes and held their water balloon fight at Dymond. So, when the school didn’t respect the efforts of the seniors to honor the administration’s wishes, it felt like an unreasonable punishment for all.

 

How inappropriate are handcuffs:

The LHS administration’s reason for having the senior class turn both versions of their senior shirts inside-out was made in regards to the handcuffs portrayed on the front of the shirts. The administration assumed the worst of the 2016 senior class and thought that the students were trying to make an explicit reference to the novel Fifty Shades of Grey, or similar sexual themes, by including a graphic of handcuffs on both the shirts. While this may be true for the “dirty” shirt, this was not the case for the clean shirts. The Drops of Ink staff recognizes the motives behind the administration’s actions, but disagrees with their assumptions.

It is the collective belief of the Drops of Ink staff that handcuffs, while affiliated with crime and prison, which coincides with the senior theme, are not too inappropriate for those of a high school stature.  Handcuffs are a common tool used by police affiliates to enforce the justice system throughout the United States. Located in police stations, prisons around the globe, and even on the belt of School Resource Officer Mr. Robert Uliks, they are a tool to enforce the public’s security. The staff feels that since Mr. Uliks specifically is allowed to walk around LHS on a daily basis with handcuffs on his belt, then the senior class should have been allowed to wear handcuffs on their clean shirts for one day.

The staff also felt that if the administration thinks handcuffs are too inappropriate for a school setting, any image can be twisted into an inappropriate symbol. This year, it was handcuffs, the next it will be flowers. You name it, any image can be twisted into something that is seen by the administration as unruly. Overall, the Drops of Ink staff felt that in an effort to be proactive, the administration overstepped their right to censor senior apparel. Ironically in the Hazelwood case of 1987, the Supreme Court stated students have the roughly the same amount of freedoms as prison inmates. So, maybe the LHS administration was trying to do seniors a favor by taking away their handcuffs for once.

 

What the administration should do in the future:

 

Part of the staff agreed to the idea that, in dealing with future senior classes, a senior student leader and an administration member should sign off on a document that binds an agreement between the two parties. That way, each group would feel that their wishes are accounted for and there would be less controversy during the first day.

However, others felt that there was no point in going to the administration first because they will always be too overbearing in their censorship. Many underclassmen on staff felt there was no point in even trying to create a clean shirt, since this year’s grade was shut down so harshly. These individuals felt that either way, the dirty shirt is a tradition that will never get approved.

 

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

Drops of Ink intends for this area to be used to foster healthy, thought-provoking discussion. Comments are expected to adhere to our standards and to be respectful and constructive. As such, we do not permit the use of profanity, foul language, personal attacks, or the use of language that might be interpreted as libelous. Comments are reviewed and must be approved by a moderator to ensure that they meet these standards. Drops of Ink does not allow anonymous comments, and we require a valid email address. The email address will not be displayed but will be used to confirm your comments.
All Drops of Ink Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
The student news publication of Libertyville High School
Staff Editorial- Seniors: They’ve Done Their Time.