When analyzing the situation at Oxford High School in Decatur, Alabama, one needs to forego emotional responses about the absurdity of the punishment when deciding whether or not the concept and enforcement of the dress code is fair. (Yes, I do know that was a terribly long sentence with way too many preopositional phrases, but I'm feeling too lazy to fix it.) While it was the form of punishment that garnered the national attention of this particular case, it should have no effect upon arguments on whether the dress code should have been placed. It is my argument that the dress code in itself was perfectly acceptable. It was the students' and parents' responsibility to maintain this dress code. Such dress codes are set to protect students, not to stiffle their rights.
To begin with, this dress code had to have been announced and news had to have been spread quite easily. If this were not the case, it would be likely that much more than eighteen out of the two-hundred-something students would have been in violation of this dress code. It is the responsibility of the students and the parents to ensure that the clothing they wear is well within school policies.

I WAS totally gonna write a whole argumentative paragraph here about keeping students safe about dress codes, but I'm out of time and I know I'm not gonna come back and re-write it.

So...err.... insert conclusion here!! \o/