BY NOAH DILL  

Bad hair days – we all have them. We’ve all had that one day were even Donald Trump would laugh at our hair. In such times of first-world crisis, you immediately grab a simple baseball cap and run off to school. Before you can even step through the main doors in the office, you see Dr. Renner motioning for the removal of your hat. And as you lift the cap from your cranium and reveal your unsightly bed-head, you may have wondered, why is this happening?

It was in the early 90’s that schools began to establish these anti-hat policies. Although no one knows why such a ban occurred during this time, some may speculate it resulted from the sharp decrease in the number of mullets. Or the policy may have been a result of the rapid increase in the popularity of bucket hats.

However, the no-hat stance was most likely established so students had to show respect before entering a public building. During this time, nearly everyone agreed to this policy and of course they should, as there is nothing even moderately respectable about wearing a bucket hat. A new rule claiming “Hats, headbands, bandanas, and sunglasses are NOT to be worn inside the building,” was inscribed into the student handbook for the sake of being proper.

However, in the year 2015, with the sale of bucket hats at an all-time low, and mullets nearly nonexistent, it may be time to reconsider the policy. Think of all the famous, events that have occurred in the past few years where people were wearing hats indoors. From Pharrell Williams at the 56th Grammys, to the Prince’s Royal Wedding; a British event so stereotypically proper and polite, it’s almost offensive.

Even Mariemont’s Vice Principal Trevor Block agrees that in some sense, “the policy is just a leftover from when it was first implemented.” However, Block also believes that to some degree hat’s can be distracting in a classroom environment. A student sitting with a top hat in front of you can be very distracting, since it is no longer the 19th century.

Yet, about half of the current student body will be voting in the next presidential election. If the students can help choose the next leaders of the free world, why wouldn’t they be able to decide which hat is appropriate to wear in school? Not to mention that our school has some of the brightest students in the state of Ohio; students taking multiple AP classes, and scoring in the 90+% range on standardized tests. Can these students not tell when a hat is inappropriate for school?

Many students support a revision to the No-Hat Policy at Mariemont, students such as senior Luke Higginbotham. “I understand why certain hats are not allowed, but sometimes I could totally rock a beanie in school,” he says. Higginbotham also adds,“The policy to ban all hats is completely ridiculous.”

Sophomore Cameron Stephens concurs with Higginbotham. He says, “although, I don’t really wear hats, I certainly don’t have anything against people who do, and if people want to wear hats then they should.” Of course he doesn’t have anything against people who wear hats, why would he?

So, next time you are forced to remove your hat as you step into the school, the only possible response to give is: The No-Hat Policy, why is this still a thing?