The University of Caloocan City's hair and dress code policy is not just about looking presentable but also about maintaining a good image that the university wants to display to the public. This policy backfired, as some students felt like they had no choice but to adhere to the university's conservative rules and regulations. The dress code inside the campus has been a hot topic as several clothes are not allowed to be worn inside the school premises, including the color, type, and length of the clothes, as they are deemed "informal" or "less decent".

The school administration aims to enforce campus dress code policies. The reason is that it promotes a comfortable and welcoming environment, as wearing school uniforms is more pleasing to the eye inside the school premises. Aside from this, wearing school uniforms would not cause the students to look for a new set of clothes every other day so that they could look presentable while studying. But will these reasons hinder the desire of the students to express themselves through clothing just because they are confined to the social norms of schools in the Philippines?

Schools abroad do not require their students to wear school uniforms. Aside from the fact that the students are free to express themselves by wearing clothes of their choice, parents would not feel burdened by the additional expense caused by school uniforms. Wearing uniforms is clearly anti-poor, given the fact that the Philippines is a poor country. We are already enslaved by poverty. Many families would choose to use their pennies to buy food rather than school uniforms for their children. I believe that adhering to the campus dress code does not teach any lessons about what work is like in the real world. It does not affect the intelligence and wit of a child. It will not define what a student can do or what his abilities and skills are. Another thing is that the financial burden will be lessened as students can choose whatever they want to wear, whatever clothes they have in a closet, without worrying that they might be sent back to their homes for wearing "inappropriate'' school attire.

At the University of Caloocan City, students are required to wear uniforms or a white t-shirt if they do not have one. Right now, it is not strictly implemented on campus, but according to the school 

guards, this was implemented by the administration because students look and dress better than their professors. Joke or not, we can't deny that this statement is half the truth. Back in my junior high school days, teachers would say, "Stop wearing that! You are even prettier than me!" So what does this imply? That freedom to express the students’ choice of attire is compromised just because they need to look like students and stop being prettier than their teachers? Some teachers are really against campus dress codes as they do not see the need for this, but the sad reality is that most teachers have a crab mentality. This would lead to another topic: the campus hair policy.

Many students feel repressed by the fact that the boys cannot let their hair grow longer as it looks less neat than an appropriate student haircut, as well as the girls, who cannot change their hair color to a fancier one. And I personally believe that academic performance is not tied to the length and color of the students' hair. There were no studies that could back up and justify this policy.

There were no scientific studies that correlated the students' academic performance with their hair. Whether your hair is long, short, or mid-length, it will not really affect your ability as a student. Our hair would not hinder us from being the best students in our class. Instead, schools must promote diversity and self-expression because our world evolves and students must learn how to respect other people's choices and preferences. The starting point is removing the campus hair policy, and in that way, students will understand that there is nothing wrong with having long and fancy-colored hair while studying. Students should not be raised thinking that there are haircuts and hair colors that are less appropriate. They must not be taught in ignorance that certain hair colors and haircuts are superior to others.

Reforming the school's policy is not a bad thing. Schools must start to consider that hair color, haircut, and dress code are not indicators of the students' intelligence and ability. Instead, think of it as a possible motivation for our children and the future of the country, because the less the students are controlled, the more they feel free to express themselves, which could lead to expressing bright and brilliant ideas for the improvement of their community.

lectures unless the program coordinator or the dean herself requests for the Chinese professors to cancel class, which is never good news for us because a mandatory make-up class follows. It is no use; we still need to make up for the time the supposed holiday has taken.

Although there are instances where we get to celebrate special holidays like Christmas Day, it never appears as a celebration as there are immediate classes early in the morning. Holidays celebrated in China, such as Chunjie or the Spring Festival, cannot also be considered breaks. Even though we have two weeks off from Chinese courses, there are still a ton of activities and time-consuming tasks that need to be done within the two-week break.

It would be great if our program coordinator, Ms. Margaret Baello, or distinguished people in charge of our welfare would request that our Chinese professors take our situation into consideration. They have always been supportive of us, and considering this, it would really be helpful to give us the rest we deserve. Considerations like allowing us to enjoy a day free from school-related obligations and limiting the activities and other difficult tasks the Chinese professors assign or not assigning any task at all if there is a holiday.

This does not imply that we despise our program; on the contrary, we value it. This simply means that we are completely worn out. We were tired from the continuous classes, even during the time that we were supposed to be resting and celebrating the special days. We are tired of expecting that if we got to take our break, we would be free from any requirements, but we are not. This English-Chinese program is great. There are a lot of opportunities offered, as people constantly say. But are the opportunities costing us our opportunities to have our deserved rest and to be completely burned out to the point of losing our interest in striving for excellence? Is this really what it takes to be an English-Chinese major? to be deprived of the proper holidays.