Elder High School has a simple and plain uniform, khaki pants or cargo shorts with the traditional purple polo, a classic look that has been prevalent at Elder since I began my life as a freshman at Elder almost four years ago.

But as I looked around my different classes today I noticed many students forgoing the traditional uniform for a more personalized wardrobe of sweaters, jackets, and different dress shirts. What I am describing isn’t a purple Friday either. This is a day to day occurrence now in Elder’s halls, seeing items from the spirit shop being worn despite their illegality. And many, if not the majority of teachers don’t care or simply shrug off the offense due to it being less disruptive to class than asking the student to remove the article.

This would be fine if not for the fact that some teachers still enforce the old rules and only begrudgingly allow the slightest of variations like sweaters. Running into these teachers in the hallway is like playing Elder’s own version of a game of Russian roulette on whether or not he will go off on you for what you are wearing.

These confrontations are some of my least favorite moments I have had at Elder, being both embarrassing and pointless, forcing me to remove my jacket or sweater for only the length of time until I am in that teacher’s line of sight.

Now, if you were to read this and say something along the lines of “Well you shouldn’t have worn that Reds jersey.” You would be misinformed on what the students are wearing. The majority of these dress code infractions come from students wearing different sweaters and jackets that they have bought from Elder’s own spirit shop, emblazoned with the Elder name and Panther on every article.

These purchases not only carry the Elder name and logo, but also provide a good deal of money to the school.

So why aren’t they legal?

It would only make sense to allow students who purchase these articles of clothing to be allowed to wear them in class, with Elder controlling just what kind of clothing is sold and benefiting from the sale of them (not to mention that allowing students to wear these clothes in class would no doubt boost sales in the spirit shop).

Of course when talking about this I am not talking about the t-shirts, I am only referring to the jackets and sweaters sold in the spirit shop, but I feel like even a small change like this could make those cold and wet Cincinnati winters much more bearable. They could even be seasonable wear that act in the same way as cargo shorts are only available to wear during certain months of the year.

The clothing that is sold in the Elder spirit shop is among some of my favorite that I have ever seen, and they all represent the Panther and the Elder name with respect and style. But when people say that for one reason or another that these articles of clothing is not to the standard of the Elder uniform they are, in fact, making them seem less desirable to wear at all.

I know that the students of Elder High School are more than ready to update the uniform if the opportunity is presented, so maybe it is time to reform our uniform.