A student walks down the crowded, loud, disorienting hallway. Making their way to class, they stop once again to pull out a hat from their backpack. They slip it on and everything seems a bit more manageable, only to have to take it off half a hallway later because now they are under the sharp gaze of the security guard.

For many students, wearing a hat or hood in school is not just for hiding their earbuds or keeping up with the latest fashion. Both are oftentimes used for practical reasons, for warmth   However, some students aren’t sure that it matters.

Freshman Lauren Whittle is one of the students who doesn’t understand the issues surrounding hats or hoods.

“I don’t wear hats to school, so I don’t have a problem with it, but I still think it’s annoying that I don’t have the option,” Whittle said. “I know a lot of people who wore a hood out of self-consciousness then suddenly they weren’t allowed to, so that just made it a lot worse for them.” 

“From what I remember, this was right before or after COVID, teachers voted on if this was a rule we should have,” said French teacher Rachel Larner. “it used to apply to all head coverings like doo-rags, bonnets, etc, and we voted to get rid of it as a rule. Some teachers had the perspective that it [the no-hats rule] was insensitive to religion, some teachers thought it [wearing a hat] wouldn’t affect a student’s learning, and some were angry about the rule and cared more about safety. Ultimately we voted to get rid of it. Two years ago we brought it [the hat rule] back. We also had a change in administration at that time.”  

Although students may see problems with the rules on hats and hoods, it seems as though none of them care about it enough to change things in the school. According to Hall Records article The No Hat Policy: What’s The Point?, the reasons for not having a hat on, or hood up are mainly to show respect to the country because you’re in a public school, and to increase safety because your hat or hood could supposedly hide your face or make it difficult to distinguish an intruder from a student.

“I feel depressed sometimes and want to put my hood up but I can’t,” sophomore Echo Ridenour said. 

A constant in schools is often students struggling with depression or other problems, and they want access to comfort items that make them feel more at ease. Along with this, there are other reasons why a student might want to wear a hat or hood

“If a student is having a really bad hair day, or being bullied, or if a student has a condition where they’re losing their hair, they don’t want people to know, and they don’t wanna be judged,” junior Miley Garcia said. 

Garcia is often late to school, being so concerned with her hair and the judgment it may receive.

“Students have a lot to say about other people’s hair, it could affect someone’s self-esteem,” Garcia said. “It’s been a change, and I don’t really understand the reason for taking them [hats and hoods] away.”

Another downside to not having access to a hat is cold classrooms. Classroom temperatures at Loy Norrix vary significantly from overly hot to shivering cold. Factors that contribute to these uneven temperatures are different AC units, the number of windows, different heating systems, the size of the room, and the varying number of students. When students are cold it can be harder for them to concentrate which may result in less work getting done, worsening grades, or a teacher who has to give more time to students making sure they are concentrating and understanding the assignment.

“Teachers have to nag people now, so they kinda have to waste their time,” said Whittle. “It’s cold, and no one wants to pay attention.”

Other students feel that taking away hats may limit their free expression and that if that person is attached to their hat, they should be allowed to wear it.

“It’s stunting my fashion,” freshman Tommy Lepsy said. “Besides, clothes that you wear a lot can be really important to you, and affect lots of people.”

Linking comfort items to hats or hoods, an article from “Year’s Team Shirts” called The Psychology of Comfort said that hoodies bring us a sense of warmth and togetherness that comforts us and goes back centuries.

Most students tend to like hoods because they provide comfort, among other things like hiding bad haircuts, providing a source of warmth, and giving a sense of security.

“Comfort items are kinda linked to you,” said Lepsy, “so it can feel stressful or different without them.”