Downey : Students Skip Class, March Against Stricter Dress Code

About 150 students opposed to a new anti-gang dress code skipped class and demonstrated Monday at Downey High School, leaving one window broken and several trash cans overturned, officials said.

The demonstration was mostly peaceful and orderly, but one student threw a rock and broke a window in a vacant school building, Assistant Principal Allen Layne said. School officials have identified the student, who will be suspended, Layne said.

Eight other students already have been suspended for one to three days for carrying signs with profanity and for exhibitionism--two girls lifted their blouses in protest during the demonstration, Layne said. The rest of the students, who missed their fifth period classes, will receive detention.

The new anti-gang element of Downey High’s existing dress code took effect Monday. It bans hats, except for those with the school logo, a certain type of baggy pants and web belts. It also prohibits students from wearing shirts that are buttoned only at the top.

The student protesters complained that the new rules were overly broad, covering non-gang attire as well. School officials met Monday and Tuesday with student leaders. As a result, most web belts will be permitted, Layne said. The students were assured that the dress code would be enforced on a case-by-case basis, strictly against gang-related attire.