Should high school students be able to wear face and body paint at school games?

Currently, this issue has come under fire at schools across the country.

Face and body paint doesn't seem unusual at school functions. After all, what would WVU be like without the gold and the blue students?

So why has this issue become such a big deal all of the sudden?

It all started with two girls from Florida, Jessyca Altenbach and Monica Cummings. They attended their homecoming game wearing only bikini tops and body paint on their upper bodies. Their principal, citing the school's dress code, gave them an ultimatum: Put on a t-shirt or leave the game. Outraged, they chose to leave. The girls claimed this treatment was unfair since topless male students with body paint were not questioned, creating a double standard.

A similar situation happened at Sandusky High School in Ohio. A group of female students wore sports bras with letters painted on their torsos that spelled out "Streaks," short for the school's mascot - the Blue Streaks. Once again, the girls were reprimanded, though not because of a dress code issue but a school policy banning face and body paint. (Face paint is banned because when students paint their whole face, they become unidentifiable.)

The principal, Dan Poggiali, told the Sandusky Register, "When we go out there, we don't get to watch the games; we're busy controlling possible problems. That takes a lot of effort. We're not being heavy-handed. The last thing I want to do is squash school spirit. Our spirit isn't what it used to be years ago, and that's not because of paint."

It's fine to show school spirit; however, this type of school spirit is against the dress code. School handbooks clearly state that appropriate dress is required both at school and school functions. A shirt must be worn at all times or else the school has the right to make you leave the event. This seems to be an established rule for most high schools in the country, so why has it become such a problem all of the sudden?

Students will do a lot of crazy things to show school spirit, but what they don't realize is that rules, such as those regarding face and body paint, are there for their protection and safety. School administrators shouldn't ban face and body paint and prevent students from showing school spirit, but at the same time, students should just put on a shirt the next time they go to a football or basketball game.