WOODBURY — Every morning we roll out of bed and go to school — and some people seem to take that literally.
Gen Z has normalized wearing lounge wear and pajamas anywhere and everywhere.
I don’t know the last time I left the house without seeing a plaid pair of pajama pants. Casually strolling around the grocery store, dining at a fast food chain, or even sitting in their classroom at school, teenagers are wearing their pajamas.
Public school has a lot of freedoms; should wearing pajamas be one of them?
In a lot of people’s opinions, school is a casual place, a place to learn, socialize, and express ourselves in whichever way our heart desires. While I do agree school is a place to learn and socialize, clothing choice sparks up an important, and opinionated, conversation.
“I would rather rip my eyeballs out,” said culinary instructor John Dominello. “Pajamas are for sleeping and relaxing at home, not for school. Adult clothes, or young adult clothes, are for wearing to school or the businesses. That’s my opinion.”
It is a simple concept.
The saying “dress for success” holds meaning to a lot of people, especially older generations.
“I personally don’t care what people wear,” said senior Grace Schmidheini. “It holds no meaning to me, but my mom won’t let me wear [pajamas] because she says it is unprofessional. She thinks it’s not appropriate to be wearing your pajamas in a school setting, but I personally don’t think it matters what you wear.”
Up until recently, the dress code regarding pajamas was strictly monitored by administration. Not only has this rule faced negligence from students, it is no longer a section in Nonnewaug’s handbook.
“Years ago it was against the rules to wear pajamas to school,” said Dominello. “You’d be given detention. Now I’m not even sure if it is in the handbook. Also I always think, are students coming to school clean if they are wearing their clothes from the night before?”
Hygiene is an important part of this conversation. It is called nightwear, after all.
With student interpretation of Nonnewaug’s dress code guideline — “students should dress and groom themselves for the business of school” — it opens the door to students styling their fuzzy Christmas pajamas to school, any day they please.
“I think people should put on normal pants to school,” said junior James Gwiadzowski. “It is so unprofessional to wear your pajamas to school; they are meant to be worn at your house. I won’t even wear them during spirit week.”
At the end of the day, teachers want their students to succeed, and while comfort is important, good decorum is a highly respectable trait.
So tomorrow morning before you leave your bedroom, make sure to leave your pajamas there, too.
This is the opinion of Brianna Johnson, a senior news editor for the Chief Advocate.
