Story Archive

Out on a Limb

When 7th grader Ari Waters attended a dance at Mt. Orab (Ohio) Middle School, she selected a sleeveless dress that belonged to her sister. “The yellow dress was just right for me. It fit me perfectly,” Ari said. But when she arrived at the dance, she was told the dress violated the school’s dress code and told to put a coat over it. Ari’s mother, Gina Waters, demanded an explanation from the vice principal. “I said what’s wrong with her bare arms? And she said ‘they are sexual objects’ and I said whoa, wait a minute,” Gina recalled. She complained to the principal, Sabrina Armstrong, who released her own statement: “Mt. Orab Middle School has an adopted dress code that we require all students to abide by for school functions. ... As for the other allegations, the district has looked into the situation and deemed them to be unfounded.” Gina says district officials are “backing her. But it did happen. These middle schoolers are 10 years of age up to 13. They’re kids. They’re not sexual objects. They’re not sexual beings. That word should never have been used and it should never have been associated with an arm, with a limb.” (MS/WKRC Cincinnati) ...No matter what their age, kids should have a right to bare arms.