A woman’s strength is determined by who she is on the inside, the beauty within herself. We all have the basic right to express ourselves freely – but when it is appropriate.

Sydney and Miki Spies have both written letters to the Herald regarding Sydney’s yearbook photo. Sydney submitted a senior photo that was deemed inappropriate. In her senior photo, she was wearing a short skirt with a black, slightly see-through scarf as her top. I understand that Sydney feels as though she was being told not to express herself and was being shamed for being the woman she is. There are many different ways to portray a strong and confident woman. We go to public school to get a free education, so that we have the tools to be molded into the people we were destined be – and with that comes rules.

Every school has a dress code. In Durango High School’s dress code, it clearly states what the school feels is appropriate and what is inappropriate. Sydney broke 4 out of the 12 dress-code rules. I will agree with her that it was not fair of DHS to let her pay to put the picture in the yearbook as an advertisement if they felt it was too inappropriate to use as a senior picture. I discussed the issue with Bayfield High School’s principal, Leon Hanhardt, and he had a great viewpoint. He stated, “A yearbook is a memory, and it should be appropriate. Not only for obvious reasons, but because the yearbook is not only for the students, similar to graduation. Both the yearbook and graduation are for friends and families of many people.”

We are all created to be unique individuals. There are so many ways to express yourself and who you are – although I do not feel as though high school is the right time and place to use your clothes to express yourself, especially if it goes against the dress code. We have so many years in our lives to explore who we are.

Harley Turner

Bayfield