A principal at a North Texas high school is apologizing over a video shown in school this week.
The video was supposed to teach students about the dress code at Marcus High School in Flower Mound.
But students and parents say it sent a much different message.
The video begins like a scene out of the movie Mean Girls.
It shows a group of girls wearing T-shirts and athletic shorts in the halls as the song Mean Girls by M.I.A. plays in the background.
The girls are confronted by a staff member who escorts them to detention for violating the dress code.
In the fictitious scenario, the teens are ordered by a teacher tapping on a whiteboard to repeat the phrase, “I will not wear athletic shorts.”
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
The video was shown to roughly 3,000 students at Marcus High School on Thursday during an advisory period.
It was mean to re-enforce the dress code but instead, seniors Nicole Hollowell and Catherine Moring say it re-enforced stereotypes.
“Almost immediately people were giving feedback and it was not good feedback,” said Moring.
What stood out the most, they say, is the video’s lack of diversity.
“There was no guys, there was no people of color there was nobody who was overweight,” said Hollowell.
Outraged by what they saw, they asked for the video from a teacher then shared it on Twitter.
As of Friday, it was viewed more than 40,000 times and had received dozens of comments.
“Thank you for bringing attention to this. As a mom I am appalled and outraged,” wrote one parent.
The principal issued a statement Friday saying:
“I apologized to our students regarding this issue today, but wanted to reach out and apologize to parents as well. I’m a firm believer that when you make a mistake, you own it, you apologize, and you make it right.
Yesterday we showed a dress code video that featured only female dress code violations, and was accompanied by a poor song choice. Construction in and around the campus prevented us from holding student orientation, which is typically accompanied by a fashion show that demonstrates what to wear, and what not to wear. We believed a video would be a good way to replace the fashion show, but this video absolutely missed the mark.
Please accept my sincere apology for not ensuring our video achieved its intended purpose - to remind ALL students of our dress code expectations.
If you want to visit with me about this or any other concern you may have, my door is always open.”
“I think he did a great job,” Moring said.
Hollowell and Moring hope the incident opens a dialogue between school staff and students to prevent it from happening again.
